Stars of an Illusionary Sky
by TCAnimorph
Summary: Renko Usami, a nearly-ordinary human from the outside world, has just received a mysterious letter after the sudden disappearance of her best friend, Maribel Hearn. Chasing after her lost friend will lead her places she only dreamed possible...
1. 6, Part 1

This fanfic will update every Monday, barring unforeseen circumstances preventing it. Intermissions will be posted on Thursdays, if they occur. All author's notes will be at the end of chapters, this one not included, so that you may skip them if you wish.

Please sit back and enjoy a trip into my version of Gensokyo.

* * *

Stars of an Illusionary Sky

Chapter 1: 6, Part 1

* * *

A fine frost covered the window as sunlight streamed through the glass and into a small yet comfortable room. As the minutes trickled by, the sun's angle changed ever so slightly, and the brightest spot slowly moved directly over the closed eyes of a sleeping girl.

Renko Usami groaned, and threw her pillow at the window. It bounced off the glass and onto the floor with a soft thwump. She tolerated the light for another few seconds before finally giving in and getting up.

Black skirt, black knee-high socks, and white top… As Renko dressed herself, she looked at her reflection in the slim mirror hanging on the wall. The dark circles under her wine-red eyes hadn't gotten any better. She stifled a yawn.

Maybe some tea would help her stay alert.

Renko walked over to start preparing some tea, and stopped. Her favorite hat, a cute black fedora sporting a white band and bow, was sitting on the kitchen counter beside the tea, overturned. A letter in a crisp lilac envelope was sticking out of it.

How… She knew she hadn't left her hat there, and nobody else had been in her apartment in several weeks.

For now, though, she slid it aside to get the tea.

Minutes later, Renko sat down with her cup of tea, taking a careful sip with her eyes closed. She already felt more awake from its somewhat artificial scent. She let the taste linger on her tongue as she turned the mysterious letter over in her other hand. The paper smelled faintly of vanilla, and there was nothing written on the outside.

Curiosity won over any caution in her mind, and Renko carefully tore the top edge open, and pulled out a sheet of white paper that somehow lacked any fold marks once she flattened it onto the table to read.

"To Miss Renko Usami-

I have sent you this letter to fulfill a promise that was made a very long time ago.

If you wish to chase after Maribel Hearn's shadow in hopes of regaining some of what you have lost, leave your apartment, and speak to the woman in the violet car. Nothing will ever be normal again for you if you accept this offer, and there is no coming back.

If instead you wish to forget her and move on, all traces that she ever existed will soon fade, and with them, your memories. She is destined to be forgotten, and there is nothing in your mundane world that can stop it.

You have two hours to make your decision from the moment you opened the letter.

I will be waiting.

-Ran Yakumo"

By the time she reached the end of the letter, Renko had almost forgotten about her tea.

Maribel Hearn.

Just reading the name made her heart flutter in worry. It had been several weeks since the blonde girl, Renko's roommate and best friend, had simply failed to come home from classes one day. The next day, she was still missing, and there was no response when Renko tried calling her cell phone.

The worst part was that nobody noticed. Renko had gotten no more than shrugs and confused stares from her classmates, and from the professors Maribel should have seen that day. Renko's parents had been concerned at first, but a few days later, hadn't remembered who Maribel even was. Her name had even disappeared from the school system.

Only the Sealing Club notebook that Renko always carried and its photos and stories of past adventures, and Maribel's belongings around their shared space, still served as proof she'd ever existed. Renko knew what had probably happened- Merry's ever-growing ability to see boundaries and travel into places that shouldn't exist must have finally led her so far away she couldn't come back.

Renko had always known this was going to happen someday, but she had held onto the hope that when it did, Maribel would take her with her… not leave her all alone in the middle of Kyoto, watching the world slowly forget her.

Whoever this 'Ran' was, they were offering Renko the chance to follow her best friend into… wherever she'd gone.

Her mind was already made up as she lifted her tea and downed the rest as quickly as she could. She had to pack a few things, and she only had a couple of hours.

* * *

Renko stepped out of the apartment building, now wearing her hat and a small, slightly overstuffed backpack. She looked around, scanning the street, and her eyes were immediately drawn to a sleek, somewhat old-fashioned car. It looked very expensive, and the rich violet paint made it stand out- and yet, everyone was walking past it as if it didn't exist.

She didn't hesitate to walk over, and lean down a bit to try and see who was in the car. It was empty, but for a blonde woman in the driver's seat.

The stranger regarded Renko with piercing gold eyes, brighter than Merry's and quite different in shape. She wore a blue and white suit dress that accentuated her lithe yet curvy figure. But what drew Renko's attention the most were the pointed golden fox ears that stuck up out of her hair, and the nine furry tails that were all quite neatly organized around her.

She was a kitsune. A youkai- a real youkai, sitting in a suit dress in an expensive car and calmly watching Renko.

Renko gulped nervously as the kitsune rolled down the window.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to come," she said.

"Are you… Ran Yakumo…?" Renko had a lot of questions to ask, but only two mattered right now. "…and can you really help me find Merry?"

The kitsune nodded.

"Yes to the first. And as for the second… yes, if you truly are willing to leave behind everything else in your life. In your world, even," Ran said. "And… Time has flown differently for you than it has for your friend. You will likely not even be able to see her until spring comes. But if you take this path, you will find her again."

Renko didn't have to take long to think about this. She could wait, and could accept that things were different, if she knew Merry was alright and she'd see her again.

"…Can I bring my backpack?" Renko asked.

Ran chuckled softly, and nodded once more.

"You may. Get in. We'd best be starting now, it's a long trip," Ran said. Renko gave a small nod, and opened the car door. She nestled into the luxurious black velvet seat, taking off her bag and setting it at her feet, and the car hummed to life as she closed the door and pulled the seatbelt across her lap. There was silence as Ran rolled the window back up and expertly navigated into a sudden, inexplicable gap in traffic.

After several seconds, she spoke up again.

"Care for any music?" Ran asked.

Renko nodded, a bit shyly. While she wasn't about to change her mind, the presence of a real and probably quite powerful youkai was rather intimidating.

Ran pushed a button with her tail, and some moderately energetic instrumental music that Renko had never heard before started to play. She liked it well enough, though, and she looked out the windshield for a lack of anything else to focus on.

Somehow, they had already left the city, and were starting out onto a somewhat rough country road, under trees with their leaves edged in silvery frost. Renko blinked a few times, and glanced back at Ran.

"Um… Miss Yakumo?" she asked. Ran returned the glance for a moment.

"Miss Yakumo is my master. You may call me Ran," the kitsune said. "What is it?"

Master? Was this kitsune a servant to someone? That was strange… but Renko didn't want to offend her by using the wrong name.

"…Miss Ran… Where are we going?" Renko said.

One of Ran's ears idly twitched.

"Somewhere what is forgotten is remembered, and what is thought to be fiction is very much alive. A land filled with monsters, and also with hope. The residents call it Gensokyo," she said.

Renko blinked a few times in surprise. Gensokyo… Maribel had referred to one of the places she had visited in her dreams as Gensokyo. So she'd finally ended up there for good.

"I… I see." Renko went quiet again, staring out at the scenery that was flying by much faster than should have been possible. It almost made her feel dizzy.

The song changed, to one more upbeat. Renko shifted a bit uncomfortably, and looked at Ran again.

"…In your letter, you said something about fulfilling a promise. Is it okay to ask about that…?" she asked.

Ran let a small smile grace her lips, revealing the tips of fangs.

"It was a very long time ago. My master made me promise to bring you across the barrier once the memory of Maribel Hearn had vanished from all memory but yours. Had you refused my offer… I would have taken you anyways."

Renko shivered slightly, and it had nothing to do with the winter air. Ran noticed out of the corner of her eye, and her smile widened slightly.

"…Do you fear me, Renko Usami? I am no danger to you. My master would be very upset if you were at all harmed. Youkai deserve caution and respect… but the only one you perhaps need to fear is the one I suspect you will be unable to," Ran said.

Renko frowned slightly. The kitsune wasn't making any sense to her. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and rested her head against the car door. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Renko hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until the car came to a stop and she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Wake up, Usami. We've gone as far as we can by car," Ran said. Renko lifted her head, and nodded. As Ran got out of the car, she shook her head to clear away the haze of sleepiness, and she made sure to bring her backpack with her.

The car had stopped at the base of a hill, and Ran was standing in front of worn stone stairs leading up. Just when Renko caught up, she started up them at a pace Renko could match without too much effort.

Renko couldn't help but watch Ran's fluffy tails all swish side to side in perfect synchronization as she walked. It didn't take the kitsune very long to notice, and she chuckled.

"…You may pet them, if you wish. I am not a Ninetales and you will not be cursed or anything," Ran said.

"Oh, um… Thank you," Renko said, giving a sheepish half-smile. She hadn't been aware it was so obvious. She curiously reached out to touch one, and her touch was rewarded with the sensation of long, thick, and luxuriously silky fur.

"They're so soft!" Renko giggled just a little, and moved slightly away so she wouldn't be tempted to abuse her newfound fluffy tail privileges.

"I should hope so, with how much shampoo I have to use," Ran muttered. Renko managed to catch it, and had to force herself not to laugh.

The stairs weren't that tall, and at the top, a badly-worn shrine gate that looked like it had been red at some point stood before the dusty shell of an old shrine. The entire place felt unnaturally still, and though Renko had heard the typical sounds of nature on the way up, here there was only silence.

"Alright… We're almost there. Now…" Ran focused, and the energy in the air was tangible- Renko could feel a massive amount of almost electrical power flow through the air, through Ran.

Suddenly, the air underneath the shrine gate flickered, and rippled like water. The ruined shrine behind it was replaced with a slightly weathered but perfectly intact one, and everything on the other side looked… more real than the eerily still surroundings.

"…Go on through. This is the gateway to Gensokyo, the Hakurei Shrine. I will be right behind you," Ran said. Her voice was slightly strained, and Renko could still sense the energy running through the air.

"Right…" Renko stepped forwards, and took a breath to gather herself. This was it. She was leaving her world forever, and she was going to find Maribel.

There were six weeks until spring.


	2. 6, Part 2

Chapter 2: 6, Part 2

* * *

Passing through the gate felt like stepping through a thin veil of stationary water and coming out on the other side completely dry. Ran followed her a moment later, and Renko glanced back over her shoulder. Instead of the still and overgrown stairs they had climbed up, the opening between the worlds had already faded, and the scenery at the bottom of the well-maintained steps looked dramatically different. There was no going back now.

A sudden thought struck her.

"…Um… Miss Ran? Am I going to be forgotten just like Merry?" she asked, looking up at the taller woman.

"Almost certainly. But that is not a good topic to dwell on. There is someone you need to meet, and she happens to live here." Ran started walking past Renko, and Renko followed. She didn't regret her choice. This way, her parents would only worry for a short time, and then they could be happy.

At the front of the shrine, a young woman with rich shoulder blade-length brown hair was sitting on the steps, dressed in an altered red-and-white dress that was still recognizable as shrine maiden clothes. A scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a cup of hot tea rested in her hands. She looked up with eyes a slightly brighter red than Renko's as the two approached.

"I thought I felt someone open the barrier. Who's this with you, Ran?" she asked, not bothering to get up.

"Renko Usami. She may be an outsider, but I'm bringing her in on a very long-standing command from Lady Yukari. Actually, I'd like your help with something regarding her," Ran said, equally casually.

"She can't stay at my place." The shrine maiden chuckled, and Renko realized that had been a joke.

"That's fine. I just need you to mark her as a native so the youkai don't think she's dinner. Lady Yukari would be very upset if she was harmed."

The shrine maiden raised an eyebrow in faint surprise. Renko cringed slightly at the idea of a youkai thinking of her as dinner.

"…It's been a long time since anyone's asked me to do that. Not since Alice, I think… But if you say it's important, I guess it's important," she said. She got to her feet, and started into the shrine. "You two can stay here, I just need to get something."

Renko obediently stood where she was, while Ran glanced at her.

"That was Reimu Hakurei. Despite how she looks, she is perhaps the second most important person in Gensokyo," Ran said.

"…Do, um… youkai… actually eat people?" Renko asked, looking up a bit timidly.

"Only unmarked outsiders. Which is why I brought you here first." Ran watched as Reimu returned, holding a gohei and a paper talisman.

"Okay, uh… Usami, right? Hold still. This hurts, no way around that," Reimu said. She walked around behind Renko, who stood still, tensing slightly.

Reimu placed the paper talisman onto the center of Renko's back, where it somehow stayed in place when she pulled her hand away. She closed her eyes, and chanted something that Renko couldn't understand. Renko could feel her touch the tip of the gohei to the center of the talisman.

Suddenly, pain like electricity coursing through her shot through Renko's body, and she collapsed to the ground with a scream that was cut short, paralyzed by the intensity. She had no way of knowing how long it lasted, but when it faded, the odd sense of energy she'd felt when Ran was opening the way here had returned, faintly and with a much softer feel, around herself. Reimu was standing in front of her, and was offering her a hand.

"It went a lot faster with Alice, but good to see you're finally up. Congratulations, Usami, you're a resident of Gensokyo. Come on, I'll make you some tea to celebrate," Reimu said. Renko took her hand and got up rather shakily. The intense sensation of energy was present around Reimu's hand, much more intense than her own. She collapsed again onto the steps while Reimu went inside, still trembling.

Ran was nowhere to be seen. That was a bit odd- after all that trouble, the kitsune had simply left?

Reimu returned, and sat beside her, offering Renko a cup of hot tea. She gratefully took it, and sipped slowly at the deliciously fragrant drink. As she did, she closed her eyes, and forced herself to breathe deeply. When she opened her eyes, she had managed to stop shaking. However, the odd sensation of energy clinging to her skin remained.

"…This… is really good tea. It tastes… real," Renko said after a few minutes had passed. Reimu chuckled softly.

"Thanks, glad you like it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Ran said she already told you, but my name's Reimu Hakurei. I'm in charge of maintaining balance in Gensokyo… which usually just means beating up anyone who disrupts that balance and making them fix what they did."

Renko nodded, and took another sip of her tea.

"…Uh… I keep feeling this weird… energy, I guess, clinging to me. It… started after you did, um, whatever you did. Should I be concerned?" she asked.

Reimu raised an eyebrow, and held one hand close to Renko. She tilted her head, puzzled, before her eyes widened in realization and she started laughing.

"That's your own aura you're feeling, Usami. I guess in the outside world, you guys don't really feel magical energy often enough to know. You had a pretty pitiful aura with no traces of Gensokyo's energy, definitely marked you as a helpless outsider and easy pickings for youkai. So I really just sealed a bunch of Gensokyo's magic into your body. Now your aura's nice and healthy-feeling," Reimu explained.

Renko nodded. That at least mostly made sense to her. She had the feeling that her usual logic wouldn't serve her as well as she was used to anymore, though. She was going to have to learn how things worked here.

"…So… youkai won't eat me now?" Her voice was clearly hopeful.

"Aside from maybe Rumia, yeah, you're safe from being eaten. You're not safe from pranks, though, and youkai can still be dangerous even if they don't intend to eat you. I'd recommend finding someone to teach you combat magic so that you can defend yourself."

"Okay… I can do that." Renko paused to take another sip of tea. "…Oh, also. I came here in the first place looking for my friend. If I showed you a picture of her, would you be able to tell me if you've seen her…?"

"Yeah, of course. I tend to remember faces, if not always names." Reimu set aside her now-empty teacup.

Renko set her mostly-empty cup aside, and fished a rather worn notebook out of her backpack. She flipped it open to where a paperclip held a photograph to the page. The photograph showed Renko standing in front of a run-down shrine, standing beside a young woman with delicate European features and wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair topped with a white mob cap, a purple dress adorning her body.

Reimu's eyes widened slightly in shock.

"…How… No, that can't be. There's no way that could possibly…" Reimu looked up at Renko. "What's that girl's name?"

"I always call her Merry. Her real name's more like, um… Mariberi Han… but I can't really say it right." Renko couldn't help but be hopeful. Did this girl know Merry…?

Reimu relaxed, and shook her head. "Ah, no, that isn't who I was thinking of. Sorry, but I've never met her. She does look an awful lot like someone I do know, but it must just be the dress. Not many people wear purple."

Renko could feel her heart sink a bit.

"…Well… thank you anyways…" Renko carefully put the notebook back away. There was another minute of silence, during which Renko drained the last of her tea. Reimu glanced at the empty cup, then back up at Renko.

"If you're done with your tea, Ran asked me to walk you to the human village. She had something important to go take care of, and she said to tell you not to worry, she'll go find you as soon as she can help you with finding your friend," Reimu said.

"Oh, okay… I was wondering where she was. That sounds fine." The prospect of just waiting around until she could find Merry was a little disheartening, but at least maybe she could look into the combat magic Reimu had mentioned in the meantime. Reimu took both teacups inside as Renko got up and stretched a bit. Soon, the two of them were walking down a set of stairs away from the shrine, into a forested area that was sprinkled with frost just like the city back in the outside world. A cleared path of packed dirt wound between the trees.

"It's a good thing you're dressed warmly. It's pretty cold out today," Reimu commented after a while. She had already put her hands in her pockets to protect them.

"Yeah…" Renko had gotten rather used to cold weather, but the socks and long sleeves definitely helped. She had packed a lightweight jacket too, just in case.

"Too bad outsiders don't know how to fly, or the trip would be a lot shorter," Reimu muttered, looking up at the sky. Renko followed her gaze up, and blinked in surprise. Even though it was day, she could make out the stars easily, and simply from seeing them, the exact coordinates of their location slipped into the back of her mind as easily as one might mentally comment on a pretty cloud.

"Whoa…" Renko stopped walking for a moment. Reimu glanced over at her.

"What is it?"

"Ah… I usually can't use my ability during the day. It feels kind of weird…" Renko shook her head, and looked back at Reimu.

"Oh, you have an ability? Good, that will really help you fit in. Why don't you tell me about it? It'll make the trip seem shorter," Reimu said.

"I can tell exactly where I am by looking at the stars, and the exact time by looking at the moon. Right now I can really faintly see the stars… behind the blue of the sky," Renko explained a bit shyly.

Reimu nodded. "That's a pretty sensible ability. Useful enough if you want to go places. I don't see much combat application, but not everyone's power has to be great for that. It probably got stronger because you have actual magic in you now- even if it is just sealed to you, not an actual part of you."

Renko glanced away with a sheepish smile. Having some sort of odd ability was probably pretty normal around here. She liked the idea of not having to keep it hidden anymore.

As they continued walking, a sudden whoosh of air shot past the two. A black-and-white blur barreled ahead, then stopped short and turned to face them.

"Hey, Reimu! Who's your friend?" a girl sitting sideways on a broomstick said. Between the oversized black, pointed hat, and her black and white dress, and the fact she was riding a broom, it was painfully obvious even to Renko that she was a witch.

"Ah, she's an outsider Ran brought by, had me mark as off-limits for youkai. Why don't you two introduce yourselves?" Reimu's tone was calm and casual.

"Um… I'm Renko Usami, it's very nice to meet you…" Renko bowed politely. When she looked back up, the witch was chuckling to herself, and had hopped off of her broom and walked up to her.

"No need to try and sound all formal, ze. I'm Marisa Kirisame, you can call me Marisa, and I'm just an ordinary witch. Good to meet ya too!" Marisa had a large, warm grin on her face, and offered her hand. Renko somewhat shyly shook it- her grip was firm and her hands were warm, even in the chilly weather.

"I was just walking Usami to the human village. She came here looking for a missing friend, and apparently Ran has orders to help her," Reimu said once Marisa dropped Renko's hand and took a half-step back.

"Eh? Why would the gap hag order her fox to help some kid from the outside world find her friend, ze?" Marisa peered curiously at Renko, who stayed quiet.

"Kid? Marisa, she looks about our age." Reimu gave Marisa a flat stare, unamused.

"You can speak for yourself, ze, I never grew up." Marisa grinned.

"…Anyways, we ought to keep walking. You can follow us if you like," Reimu said, shaking her head slightly.

"You're going to walk, huh? Ah, I guess Usami can't fly…" Marisa looked thoughtful, then grinned wider than before. "Hey, why not fly? I'm here, ze, I can take a passenger."

"If you dropped her, I don't even want to know what Yukari would do to you." Reimu glanced at Renko. "…You have a pretty good track record, though, so if she's fine with it, I don't see why not."

"…Flying…" Renko paused, trying to imagine it. What would flying feel like? Reimu seemed to think it was safe enough, and it was something new. If there were youkai, and magic auras, and witches, why not flying?

"…Um… sure, it sounds fun. And if it means less walking around in the cold, why not?" she said.

Marisa grinned, and hopped onto her broomstick, which hovered at a height where Renko could easily get on behind her.

"Awesome, ze. Hop on, and make sure you hold on to me so you don't fall," she said. Renko nodded, and hesitantly got on, holding on to the broom's handle with both hands.

"We'll race you, Reimu! Readysetgo!" And with that Marisa shot off like an arrow, and Renko yelped and threw her arms around Marisa's waist to keep from falling. The scenery was passing by so fast Renko wasn't sure if she was on a broom or a bullet train, and surprisingly enough, Reimu was catching up in the air without wings or a broom, the bow on her head fluttering in the wind.

Slowly, Renko relaxed enough to look around as they flew, though she still held on to Marisa. Even though they were moving so fast, everything looked beautiful from up here, and the stars looked closer than ever.

The wind suddenly caught her hat, flicking it off her head.

"Nooo! My hat!" Renko cried as she was whisked away from it. Before it could fall too far, though, Reimu grabbed it by the brim as she flew to catch up to the witch and her passenger.

"Marisa, don't go losing people's things," Reimu said as she evened out her pace beside the two, and reached back behind her head, slipping her bow off and letting her long hair loose. She put Renko's hat on, and pulled past them with a grin.

Renko watched in disbelief. That was the hat Merry had bought her. Nobody else was allowed to wear it.

"…Hey… Marisa?"

"Yeah?" Marisa glanced back over her shoulder at Renko.

"…Can we… catch up and get my hat back?" Renko asked.

Marisa grinned.

"Sure can, ze. Stick this in the slot on the back of the broom, kay?" Marisa pulled a small octagonal box out of her pocket, and offered it to Renko.

Renko nodded, and while she kept holding on with one arm, she took it. There was a small wooden clip in the twigs of the broom, difficult to notice unless you were looking, and the box fit in perfectly, held in place.

"Blazing Staaaar!" Marisa called out.

Renko would never forget what happened next- an absolutely enormous laser that gave off a staggering amount of magical energy shot from the box, even partly enveloping the two of them, and they rocketed forwards so quickly Renko had to huddle tightly against Marisa's back to stay on, eyes shut to protect her sight from the sheer brightness. She spent a few seconds trying to consider the amount of energy it would take to create this effect without incinerating them. It was completely physically impossible.

Marisa took one hand off the handle of the broom, and snatched the hat off of Reimu's head as she shot past. She altered her path, and Renko could feel the broom descending. The laser cut out quite suddenly, and Marisa's flight slowed. Renko relaxed her grip, and opened her eyes. A rather old-fashioned-looking village was just below, and Marisa stopped just off the ground in front of the town gate.

Renko fell sideways off the broom, senses still scrambled from the display of magically-enhanced speed.

"Hey, uh, you okay?" Marisa poked her in the ribs with the tip of her broom, still holding the hat.

"…I'm dyiiing," Renko whined, as melodramatically as she could manage through her dazed state.

"Aah! No! Usami, you have to pull through or the gap hag will have my head! Don't you dare die on me, ze!" Marisa frantically started shaking her by the shoulders, apparently believing the act. Renko groaned.

"Was that really necessary, Marisa?" Reimu landed beside the two, fixing her hair back into its ponytail. "And Usami, get up, you're fine. You can't die from being in the middle of a Spark, even though it's a bit overwhelming the first time."

Marisa let go of Renko. Renko got to her feet a bit shakily, and snatched her hat back, gently nestling it back on her head.

"Hey, she asked for it, ze… Technically, she just asked me to catch up and get her hat back, but I figured that was the best way to do it…" Marisa grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"What… was that?" Renko asked.

"Spell card. Nonlethal spiritual attack, but the magic can be used for other stuff too. Like that, ze," Marisa quickly explained.

Renko nodded in understanding.

"…Can… Can I learn how to do that?"

Marisa grinned at Reimu. "I like this kid already."

* * *

The next update will be on May 25th.

I know Marisa's 'ze' tic is a bit of a controversial topic in the fandom. I have decided to include it, as it makes her speech extremely distinctive and she is the type of person who would absolutely do that sort of thing. If that bothers you, I apologize, but I try not to overdo it either.


	3. 6, Part 3

Chapter 3: 6, Part 3

* * *

Renko followed Marisa into the village a bit nervously. The witch had offered to show her around, since she needed to go shopping anyways, and Reimu had gone back to the shrine.

"You know, ze, if you want to learn magic, I could always introduce you to my old teacher. I went to visit her the other day and she mentioned she's been thinking about finding a new apprentice," Marisa commented as they walked. Renko blinked a few times, looking at her.

"Really…? That would be cool," she said with a small smile.

"I mean, I dunno if you have enough magic potential to stand out to her. She's a little picky. But if she does offer to teach you… Take her up on it. I'll ask her later today if she's interested in meeting you." Marisa looked thoughtfully at a sign on a shop.

"…Say, you're going to need somewhere to stay, aren't you?" She looked back at Renko.

"…Ah… yeah…" It hadn't occurred to Renko that not being able to go back meant she didn't have anywhere to sleep, not until Marisa mentioned it. That was a bit of an unpleasant thought.

"Well, I think I know how to take care of that! Just carry my stuff while I shop, and I'll find you a place to stay, ze," Marisa said with a grin.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Renko was carrying a rather large bag of entirely random odds and ends Marisa had purchased, and the two of them had just returned to the entrance of the village.

"Okay, let's get the bag looped around the front of the broom. I'll hold it on while we fly, you get on the back," Marisa said, hopping onto her broom and hovering a few feet off the ground.

"Alright…" Renko slid the bag's handles onto the broomstick, and carefully got on behind Marisa. As they rose up into the air again, Renko held on to her with one hand, and kept the other on the brim of her hat. They flew a bit slower this time, out over a dense forest. Renko glanced up at the sky every so often, noting which way they were headed. She had memorized the coordinates of the human village while Marisa was shopping, in case she needed to return on foot.

They hadn't been flying that long when Marisa descended into a large clearing around a pretty white house with blue trim. The paint was in excellent shape, and a small garden of herbs, both edible and medicinal, was set up under a small glass greenhouse that protected them from the snow. Marisa landed, and simply left the broom and bag on the ground.

"Kay, just act natural, ze," Marisa said as she walked up to the door. She knocked in a deliberately annoying rhythm.

"Yo, Alice! Aliiice!" Marisa called. The door swung open moments later, mid-knock, and nearly hit Marisa in the face.

"…Hi, Marisa," the blonde girl at the door said. She wore a blue dress and white shoulder-cape, and held a thick book bound in red, white-trimmed ribbons like the ones that decorated her outfit. Her eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue, and Renko noted that she looked European, but different from Merry.

"Alice! Hey, y'know how sometimes you let people stay at your place? My new buddy here could use a place to sleep," Marisa said, grinning and glancing at Renko.

Alice blinked twice, then looked at Renko. Renko timidly lifted a hand to wave hello.

"…Well, she can't possibly be any more poorly-behaved than you. I don't see why not," Alice said, giving a half-shrug. She turned to look at Renko. "Come in and make yourself comfortable. And please don't touch the dolls."

"Um… thank you…" Renko walked over, a bit less nervous. Marisa clearly trusted this girl, and she seemed nice enough.

"I'll be back tomorrow, ze. You two have fun!" And with that, Marisa went back to her broom, hopped on it, and zipped off above the trees. Alice shook her head and sighed, and held the door open for Renko.

The inside of her house was clean and well-organized, if a bit cluttered. Several shelves held countless, beautifully-made dolls, and a few with wings were flitting around, cleaning. Opalescent strings that only seemed to be half-real trailed off of these, each one leading back to Alice.

"…Are you hungry? I was just about to fix myself something," Alice asked, glancing back at Renko.

Renko was about to politely decline, when her stomach decided to remind her that she hadn't eaten all day.

"…Um… if it's no trouble, I am a little," she said, still looking at the dolls. The sheer number of them was a bit unnerving, but she walked closer to the shelf to admire one that looked like a perfect little replica of Reimu.

"Mm." About five dolls zipped to the kitchen, and started preparing food. Alice regarded Renko with a slightly amused smirk. "…Say, what's your name?"

"Ah! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself…" Renko immediately turned to her and bowed, a bit flustered. "I'm Renko Usami, it's very nice to meet you."

"I'm Alice Margatroid, same." Alice walked over, and very gently lifted the Reimu doll off of the shelf. "I saw you looking at this. Do you like it?"

Renko nodded. "Yes, um… It looks just like Hakurei. But tiny, and without the aura."

"I made all of these myself. I'm flattered you think so." Alice smiled, and offered the doll to Renko as if it were a baby. "You seem responsible. You can take a closer look if you'd like- just remember to put her back when you're through."

"You… made this?" Renko carefully took the doll, turning it over in her hands. The attention to detail was incredible- even the little white zigzags on Reimu's ribbons were replicated, and while the facial features were slightly exaggerated, there was no doubt as to who was being depicted.

Renko carefully put the doll back in its place, and turned to Alice. "It's… amazing. Margatroid, I'm honored you would let me hold such a work of art."

Alice smiled a bit proudly.

"Well, I'm glad to meet someone who appreciates art. Come have a seat, I'd like to hear a bit about how you got here."

* * *

Renko had just finished explaining everything that had happened to bring her here, when three of Alice's dolls flew over and set down a plate of sandwiches.

"Ah, perfect timing. Feel free to have some," Alice said, daintily picking up a perfect triangular half-sandwich filled with cucumber and cream cheese. Renko nodded gratefully, and took a similarly nice-looking egg salad sandwich. She took a bite, and stared at the sandwich in amazement.

"…Uh… Usami? Is it alright?" Alice tilted her head, uncertain.

"The bread… doesn't have a bitter aftertaste. How did you do that…?" Renko asked, looking up at last. Alice raised an eyebrow.

"I may not be an expert in outside-world food, but I'm pretty sure bread isn't supposed to have a bitter aftertaste. I mean, it's just bread. Flour, water, yeast, maybe milk or eggs, depending… little salt…"

"But- oh…" Renko paused in realization. "...All the food plants that have been dying out still exist here, don't they?"

Alice went silent, staring in utter disbelief. She shook her head, and quickly regained her composure.

"I am very glad I have not been to the outside world since I was a very young child and don't remember it. I like real bread too much," she said.

Renko considered asking, but it seemed rude. Instead, she nibbled on her sandwich, enjoying the rich, clean taste. She'd never eaten any food that wasn't artificial or full of chemical preservatives before, and while she wasn't quite used to this yet, she already loved it.

"…Anyways, you mentioned that Marisa said she would recommend you to her old teacher? She is incredibly skilled, but I hope you aren't afraid of ghosts," Alice said between bites.

"…Ghosts…?" Renko tilted her head.

"Yes. Her old teacher is a vengeful ghost. She isn't that vengeful, though. A bit odd, but then again, who in Gensokyo isn't?"

Renko stared blankly. Marisa- the somewhat silly human witch who thought riding a giant laser beam was a good idea- had learned her magic from a ghost? This place got weirder every few seconds, it seemed. At least she was pretty sure she could handle meeting a ghost.

"…This place really is weird…" Renko sighed, thoughts trailing off as to what Merry would be thinking of all this. A shrine maiden who was best friends with a witch, a ghost who taught magic, this nice young woman with way too many dolls who was probably the most normal person she'd met so far and who had given her wonderful food… Had she met all of them already? Was she still okay?

"Yes, but it is a nice place to live, once you get used to it. I suppose if Yakumo ordered you to be brought in, you don't have much of a choice in the matter, but hopefully you'll end up liking it. Especially once you find your friend." Alice daintily ate the last bite of her sandwich after saying this.

Renko nodded, and reached for another half of a sandwich. "I hope so too…"

* * *

Renko spent much of the rest of the day faithfully documenting her experiences in the Sealing Club journal, and drawing in sketches of everyone she had met since coming to Gensokyo. One of Alice's moving dolls landed on the back of the chair she was in, while across the room, Alice was assembling a new doll and carefully applying enchantments to it in the form of magic circles that faded out of sight as soon as they were completed.

The dolls, Renko learned, were being controlled by Alice's magic, and Alice could easily focus on making a new doll while coordinating five moving dolls to make a delicious dinner of creamy, slightly-sweet vegetable soup. The sky was already getting dark after dinner, and Alice showed Renko to a small but comfortable guest room.

For the first time since Maribel had vanished, Renko fell asleep easily. Even though her friend was still missing, she was tracing her path, and she knew in her heart she would find her, no matter how long it took.

* * *

.

* * *

When I started writing this fanfic, I had forgotten that there was a timeline disparity in having Renko around at the same time as the modern Gensokyo timeline with Reimu and all. In fact, I only remembered this morning when I woke up that Renko and Maribel live in the future, but the outside world in the games is supposed to be today's world. We're disregarding the existence of the present-day world because otherwise I don't have a story, and there's already a completed fanfic with Maribel and Renko encountering the youkai of now and the next generation of Gensokyo's humans anyways.


	4. 6, Part 4

Chapter 4: 6, Part 4

* * *

Renko woke up to the sensation of something small nudging her shoulder. She sat up, feeling well-rested for the first time in weeks, and blinked a few times at the sight of one of Alice's dolls hovering by her.

She hadn't for a moment thought the events of yesterday were a dream, but she also hadn't expected such an immediate reminder of their reality.

The doll zipped out of the room, closing the door behind it. Renko followed minutes later, and was greeted by the sight of Alice working on her doll again and one of the moving dolls offering her breakfast.

"Good morning, Margatroid," Renko said, taking the small plate of scrambled egg and toast with a smile. She wasn't used to Western breakfast foods, but it smelled good, and Alice certainly looked European, so it made sense she'd choose to make it.

"Morning, Usami. I hope I didn't disturb you too much- I just wanted to make sure you were up before Kirisame shows up. Because I'm sure she will," Alice said without looking up.

Renko chuckled quietly, and took a seat to eat her food. She managed to finish it, and was helping one of the dolls wash the plate when there was a sudden loud, annoying knocking at the door.

Alice didn't bother to get it herself this time, and one of her dolls opened it to reveal Marisa standing there with a grin.

"Heya, Alice and Usami! How was the sleepover? Did you play Truth or Dare, ze?"

"No, we spent the entire evening talking about how annoying you are, and I told her all of your embarrassing stories," Alice said with a perfectly straight face.

"Wha- Alice! No! Why would you do that to me, ze…?" Marisa looked absolutely mortified.

"I was kidding. We mostly didn't bother each other." Alice relaxed, expression going from stoic to a faint smile. "And I didn't actually share your embarrassing stories. You can be so gullible sometimes, Marisa."

"Alice, you're so mean…" Marisa sighed, but perked up almost immediately and turned to Renko. "I have some good news for you, though. I told my old teacher about you, and she said she's interested in meeting you to see if you'd make a good student, ze!"

"I'm surprised having you didn't turn her off from human students forever," Alice said, failing to hide a small smirk.

"Aliiice…" Marisa whined. She shook her head slightly. "But hey, it's not like she's busy. I could fly you over to meet her."

Renko glanced at Alice, wondering how good of an idea this was. Alice caught the glance and gave a single nod.

"If you're interested in learning magic, Marisa's old teacher is the best you'll find in Gensokyo. And as long as Marisa's with you, you won't be in any danger." Alice returned to her work after speaking.

"…Well, okay," Renko said.

"Cool, ze! Follow me!" With that, Marisa dashed out the door.

"…Um… Thank you for your hospitality, Margatroid. Hopefully I'll be seeing you later." Renko hurried after Marisa, and Alice chuckled softly to herself as she reached for a small jar of red paint.

* * *

Renko shifted uncomfortably on the back of Marisa's broom as they skimmed low over the forest. She had gotten used to the winter chill, and the snow had mostly left these trees untouched- it was almost warm, and not fitting for the season.

"Um… Where are we going?" Renko asked. They had been flying for several minutes from Alice's house, in the general direction of the Hakurei shrine but staying over the forest.

"Not far, ze." Marisa kept flying, and started to angle the broom a bit lower. They zipped between two trees, and into a small clearing that hadn't been visible from above the trees. A half-decayed house had nearly become one with the surrounding forest, currently leafless ivy growing all over it, and a mossy gravestone stood off to the side.

Renko took a moment to remind herself that Marisa's old teacher was apparently a ghost as they landed.

"Hey Meemz! I brought your possible new student!" Marisa called, grinning.

A swirl of mist flowed out from behind the gravestone, and quickly materialized into the upper half of a mature, elegant-looking woman with long green hair and blue robes adorned with stars, a pointed hat on her head bearing the emblem of a sun. A pair of violet wings extended from her back, and in place of legs, her lower body was still an eerily luminous mist.

"…So this is the human that Yakumo ordered brought here and protected, hm?" The ghost chuckled to herself. "You stand in the presence of the archmage Mima, human. Give me a good reason I should take any interest in you."

Despite her imposing presence, and the way she filled the air with a mix of magical energy and a harsh chill, the spirit's demeanor somehow failed to bother Renko. She felt more like she was being quizzed than threatened, and her mind raced. She had to… say something that would interest the ghost of an archmage.

This was definitely not something they taught back at school in the outside world.

She glanced at Marisa, who had started watching with interest. As she considered, Mima drew a staff tipped with a crescent moon from behind her back and idly twirled it.

With that sudden reminder, she looked up at the sky.

"It is exactly 9:32 AM and 43 seconds, and we are 18.57 kilometers north-northwest of the village and 4.12 kilometers straight east of the Hakurei Shrine. My name is Renko Usami, and it's nice to meet you," Renko said, bringing her gaze away from the sky.

Mima considered this.

"It would have been more impressive if you had prior knowledge of me, but given that you're an outsider with a power I suppose I'll let it slide. I didn't think there was still magic in outside blood. I'm interested, Usami, so tell me a bit about why you're here and why I should teach you," she said. "The outside of my house may not be very well-kept, but it's nicer inside. Why don't you both come in?"

Marisa cheered, raising both hands with a grin.

"Hey, you passed the first half of the entrance exam. Let's go in, ze," she said, looking at Renko.

"Um, okay!" Renko quickly followed the witch and spirit inside.

Mima hadn't been lying- the inside of her home was dusty and a bit chilly, but otherwise clean. A shelf holding several books was the only thing that hadn't accumulated a coat of dust, and strange magical diagrams covered the walls.

"Hey, this one's new, ze," Marisa commented, looking at a particularly complex sketch of a magic circle.

"It is. It's for sealing away naughty ex-apprentices," Mima said without missing a beat.

"Meeeeemz…" Marisa at least seemed aware that this was a joke, but sighed and flopped onto a chair, frowning. A cloud of dust billowed around her. "Why is everyone teasing me today?"

"You make it too easy." Mima didn't bother with a chair, simply 'sitting' in thin air and floating in place. Renko took a chair, being careful not to cause a dust cloud like Marisa had.

"…At any rate. I believe Usami has a story to tell us," Mima said, setting her staff across her lap and watching Renko intently.

* * *

Renko was starting to get tired of explaining the events that had brought her here, and was starting to consider simply writing down what she'd been through and handing it to anyone who asked.

By the time she was through, though, Mima had a thoughtful expression, and Marisa looked sympathetic.

"…Hey, I really hope you can find that 'Merry' girl, ze… I'll keep an eye out for you," Marisa offered.

"That's nice of you, Marisa, thanks…" Renko smiled shyly. Hopefully Marisa would be able to help.

Mima grinned, a knowing smirk on her face.

"I don't believe you'll find anything until Ran returns to help you, Usami. That said, your motivation is intriguing, and you seem like you'll be able to perform well. If you wish, I will teach you magic," she said.

Renko perked up at this. "Really? Thank you so much!"

"I have been bored lately anyways. I could use some excitement around here again." Mima chuckled to herself. "While you are my apprentice, you will call me Lady Mima. Marisa gets to call me 'Meemz' because she lasted through everything I could teach her. You do not have to blindly follow every direction I give, and in fact doing so would probably be hazardous to your health. Don't be contrary either or I'll have to discipline you. I'm not going to keep you on a strict schedule, as I don't exactly have one myself, but I expect you to put in considerable effort. Any questions?"

Renko shook her head.

"That all sounds reasonable… No questions here, Lady Mima," she said.

* * *

Renko hesitantly glanced down at the treetops, which looked absolutely tiny from her seat on Marisa's broom.

"Thanks again for helping me teach Usami to fly, Marisa," Mima said, entirely too casually, from across a short stretch of open air.

"Anytime, ze! Don't worry, Usami, if you fall I'll catch you," Marisa said, reassuringly patting her on the shoulder.

"…Do we have to be so high up…?" Renko asked, trying not to sound terrified. Mima had insisted on teaching her magical flight first of all, to make it easier for Renko to get to and from her house for lessons. This was all well and good, except for the fact that apparently learning how to fly involved trial and error while far enough off the ground that she could reach terminal velocity if she fell.

"Yes," Marisa and Mima said simultaneously.

"If there's no actual danger of falling, you won't learn how to fly while under pressure and it could cut out on you if you got into a fight. I'd hate to lose an apprentice because they crashed when a fairy attacked them," Mima said.

"That'd suck, ze," Marisa agreed. Renko sighed.

"…Okay… so, uh, how exactly does this work?" she asked.

"Flying is very simple. You charge your aura with ambient magical energy, and alter how the laws of reality apply to anything contained in your aura. Currently, gravity pulls you towards Earth and you need to push against a solid or liquid with sufficient force to move yourself in the opposite direction in order to go anywhere. You're overwriting that with 'gravity has no effect on me, and I can expend a small amount of magical energy to propel myself in any direction I want'," Mima explained.

Renko stared for several seconds.

"…So you're basically asking me to make myself an exception to the laws of physics?"

"Yes, exactly. You're such a bright student," Mima said with a grin.

"…And how exactly do I do that?"

"Just believe it will work and it will." Mima was still grinning. "Your first lesson is a success when you manage to fly from Marisa to me." She drifted back so there was a decent amount of space between them.

Renko glanced helplessly at Marisa.

"Go for it, ze, you can't possibly do worse than my first attempts," she said cheerfully.

Renko sighed and closed her eyes. She could sense the magical energy in the air a bit better now, having been surrounded by and breathing it for a full day now; the ambient energy was almost like heavy moisture in the air, but moisture that became something between fire and electricity when it was condensed.

She willed the aura of energy around herself to try and absorb some of this heavy feeling of magic around her, and much to her surprise it responded, flaring up to an intensity that somehow failed to be painful despite just how much energy was flowing around her.

"Okay, I think I have the 'charging my aura' part down," Renko said, opening her eyes.

"Feels like it to me, ze. That was the easy part, though, now you have to actually use it," Marisa said.

Renko nodded, and stared at the empty space between her and Mima. She had seen Reimu fly without any sort of aid, this couldn't be so hard.

"Okay, physics, I spent long enough studying you, now just sort of… I'm covered in magic, make an exception for me," she muttered to herself. Then she got off of Marisa's broom…

…and immediately started falling.

"Aaaaah! This isn't how it was supposed to work!" Renko cried out, desperately flapping her arms like bird wings in a ridiculous and entirely undignified effort to catch herself. Marisa started flying down after her, but stopped after a moment and burst out laughing.

"W-what, weren't you going to catch me if I fell…?" Renko asked. She paused, and looked down. The treetops weren't getting any closer; she was hovering in place in the air.

"You look so hilarious, ze!" Marisa managed to say through her laughter. Renko huffed, and stopped waving her arms, putting her hands in her pockets in an attempt to regain some of her dignity. Luckily, she didn't start falling again.

"…So, um, I'm floating. How do I move…?" Renko asked.

"Very carefully," Mima helpfully supplied. Renko rolled her eyes.

It took several minutes of leaning in various directions and accidentally setting herself spinning, but eventually Renko was able to simply use her aura almost like a rocket; she could feel the magical energy flare and evaporate behind her to send her moving forwards. It was even possible to continue taking in more magic as she did.

"I feel like I could do this all day," Renko commented as she drifted her way back up to where Marisa was.

"Probably could, ze. You might want to get some underwear that makes it a lot harder for you to accidentally flash people if you flip upside-down in midair, though," Marisa said with a grin.

Renko's face flushed solid red and she pulled her hat down to cover it with an embarrassed squeak.

"Now, now, Marisa, who are we to question Usami's choice in undergarments?" Mima said. "They look quite comfortable. If I still had, well, anything below my waist, I might have tried that style."

"Not helping!" Renko cried. Her cheeks still felt hot.

"You're too old for that, Meemz," Marisa said.

"Am I? Ah well. Not having legs is more convenient anyways."

Renko placed her hat back on top of her head, and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Well, you can say what you will, I'm sticking with bloomers, ze."

"Will you please stop talking," Renko asked, equal parts frustrated, embarrassed, and exasperated. Thankfully, she was met with silence, and she flew around Marisa in a circle once. She was moving only a bit faster than her walking speed, but it was so easy to move precisely. She changed course, and drifted across the open air to where Mima was hovering.

Mima simply grinned, and held up her hand. Renko smiled and high-fived the vengeful ghost.

"Well, you passed your first lesson, Usami. Now, getting it right the first time is easy. Doing it without focusing most of your attention on it is harder, but if you practice, it should become instinctual," she said.

"We should celebrate, ze," Marisa said.

Mima considered this.

"…Ah, why not? Come along, Usami, we'll go for lunch. Marisa's paying."

"Hey! No fair, ze!"

* * *

Marisa grumbled quietly to herself as she handed several coins to a bird-winged youkai girl with pink hair. Renko couldn't help being a little uncomfortable buying food from a youkai, even if her stand looked clean and professional, but all her reservations vanished when she was offered a whole grilled lamprey on a skewer, delicately seasoned and covered in a light sauce.

"Ish delishish," Renko said through a mouthful of fish. Mima chuckled, and the bird youkai smiled proudly.

"Of course it is! Lamprey is much better than yakitori! Don't eat birds!" the youkai girl said.

"I come here for lunch all the time, ze. Mystia's cooking is amazing. Just, eh, don't mention eating yakitori in front of her. Also, if ya walk by at night, she'll probably con you into buying something," Marisa said to Renko as she leaned against a nearby tree.

"H-Hey! Don't corrupt a potential new customer's mind like that!"

"Yeah, Marisa, for shame," Mima said, and casually took a bite out of her lamprey. "Looking to drive Lorelei out of business, are we?"

"It's not like that, ze! And what th'hell did you make me buy _you_ one for, anyways? You're DEAD!" Marisa flushed red as she waved her free arm in protest. Mima and Mystia laughed, and Renko had to try very hard not to start giggling herself. Instead, she focused on her delicious meal, and once everyone had calmed down, she looked up.

"Um, Miss Lorelei…?" Renko said. Mystia glanced over. "I really do like the lamprey. I've, um, never had anything like it, but I really like it. I'd like to come back sometime."

Mystia's eyes lit up, and she smiled.

"Yes, of course! I usually keep the stand open in the afternoon and first half of the night, feel free to drop by! And bring friends! Someday I'll convince everyone to eat lamprey instead of birds." Mystia hummed cheerfully to herself as she tidied up her stand a bit. The sound made Renko's ears ring a bit, but it wasn't too bad.

Renko delicately nibbled away the rest of her grilled lamprey, and tossed the bones into a nearby bin. By the time she finished, Mima and Marisa had as well.

"Bye!" Mystia waved as they left, and Marisa and Renko returned the wave.

It was much easier to start flying again now that she knew what it felt like, and she trailed just behind Mima while Marisa flew circles around them, almost too fast to follow with her eyes.

"Um, Marisa? How do you see where you're going and react in time when you go that fast?" Renko asked as Marisa circled them again.

"Lots of practice, ze. I've worked on my reaction time so I don't run into trees or bullets," she said, slowing down a bit so she could talk. "Once you can fly faster without thinking too hard, you'll get used to it."

"Psh, humans and their limited reaction times," Mima said. Renko couldn't see her face, but was almost certain the akuryou was grinning. She sighed faintly.

"So, Usami. You're probably wondering what's next for your training, right?" Mima went on.

"Um, yes."

"Well, if you want to survive in Gensokyo, you're going to need to know at least basic danmaku. I have no intention of losing my new student before we get to the fun stuff, so that's going to be top priority," Mima said.

"W-would I really be in that much danger?" Renko asked, fidgeting nervously. Mima and Marisa exchanged glances.

"Things're a lot safer now than when I was studying with Meemz, but…" Marisa started.

"The current balance is fragile, and depends on a single person. I don't want to take chances," Mima finished.

Renko nodded, and couldn't help but look around almost nervously as they flew back to Mima's dusty, overgrown house. She didn't see anyone else, and soon, they returned. She and Marisa landed, while Mima simply floated inches off the ground.

"Flying is pretty easy, as you're mostly manipulating ambient magical energy. It doesn't take much of your own power. I'm going to warn you now- danmaku uses up your own energy, and you can hurt yourself trying too hard. You will stop when I tell you to," Mima said. It wasn't a question, and Renko nodded. If Mima was warning her that she could hurt herself, she was probably right.

"Hey, hey Meemz, can I help with this one?" Marisa asked. Mima chuckled.

"Ah, sure. Now, Usami. This is a single danmaku bullet. Experienced fighters often create thousands of these in a single conflict, but if you can even make one at a time, that's enough to count under the spell card rules." Mima held up her hand, and a glowing sphere materialized over her palm. Renko could sense the intensely concentrated magic radiating from it.

"And this is what it feels like to get hit by one."

Renko barely had time to process what Mima had said before she tossed it, and the ball of light hit her in the shoulder. She yelped in alarm and jumped back, wincing- it felt a lot like an intense, burning spark of static electricity. She rubbed her shoulder with a frown. Oddly enough, it was only the slightest bit sore after the initial pain, and her shirt was undamaged.

"It hurts, ze, but it really isn't that bad once you get used to it. Can't kill ya unless you put a lot more power into it than Meemz did just there- that's about what people normally use, and if you declare an official spell card duel, nobody can use lethal force. Like, literally can't, even if ya try," Marisa said. Renko nodded, and lowered her hand.

"It, uh, did hurt, but it went away really quickly," she said.

"That's the point. If they were debilitatingly painful, the first person to get hit in a duel would just keep getting blasted until they can't keep going. This way, there's no question that you got hit, but duels can last more than ten seconds. I like danmaku, myself. It's a very elegant solution to conflict." Mima smiled, and put her hands behind her back. Marisa took the cue to speak up.

"As for how to do it yourself, you gotta take a bit of your own energy and pull it out, hold it together, and will it to be hurty and try an' condense some of the magic in the air to make it glowy," Marisa said. Renko stared for several seconds, then glanced at Mima. Mima simply grinned.

Renko sighed faintly and started trying to manipulate her magical energy. It was quite easy to separate a pinch of energy from herself simply by expecting it to move, she quickly found, but incredibly difficult to hold it together. Most attempts, the energy fizzled as soon as it was separated from her. After several minutes, she thought she had it, but the moment she tried to fold ambient energy around it, it exploded in a pretty but useless shower of white sparks.

"That one was close," Mima commented, and Marisa nodded in agreement. "Go ahead and keep trying."

Renko nodded, and focused again. Maybe if she tried with a bit more energy…?

This time, the bit of energy stayed together, and with effort, she was able to get it to glow faintly. She looked up at Mima hopefully.

"Good, good. Now throw it at Marisa," Mima said. Marisa tried to flee, but Mima zipped after her and phased through the witch, vanishing. Marisa stayed still, and Renko obediently tossed the energy sphere. Mima phased back out the moment before it hit.

"Ow!" Marisa whined. "Meeeeeemz, did ya really have to possess me for that, ze?"

"You were going to run off," Mima said. "You offered to help, I was simply making sure you followed through." Marisa folded her arms and grumbled quietly to herself. Renko was pretty sure that she should have been more alarmed by the fact that Mima could possess people, but she couldn't bring herself to actually be surprised. Gensokyo was already strange enough, she'd believe most anything at this point. "At any rate, good job, Usami. The fact that it actually caused Marisa pain is good! Of course, it was still completely pathetic and you only made one, but you'll get better with practice. You feel a little low on magic right now, though. We can try again tomorrow when you're at full strength again. For now, I'll have you study some magical theory. Much of magic is practice, but even more is knowledge."

Renko smiled. She'd earned Mima's approval. She was pretty sure that wasn't easily given.

"Alright, that sounds great!"

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

So, I've noticed people saying the story is starting slow and could use some action.

The thing is... honestly, would you really buy it if Renko COULD handle anything this early on? For the love of Shinki, she's been in Gensokyo for 24 hours at this point. Renko needs the tools to deal with what Gensokyo will throw at her before I can put her into any situations with real stress or danger.

She's a human from the outside world who couldn't fly, couldn't shoot, and isn't comfortable with youkai. There's a reason the story's been a little low on tension. Don't worry, it's coming.

Intermission 1 will be posted on Thursday. I believe you'll enjoy it.


	5. Intermission 1 - Koishi Komeiji

Chapter 5: Intermission 1 - Koishi Komeiji

* * *

Koishi drifted through the skies of Gensokyo, humming a song. This song had been embedded in her subconscious for weeks now, and it was so much fun!

"Doo doo, doo-dee-doo! Heehee!" Koishi twirled once in the sky. Everything was so blue and bright! Her sister's blouses were blue, too, but not quite as blue, and they didn't have poofy clouds. Or friendly clouds! Koishi wanted to see a friendly cloud. She was sure that would be amazing.

She sensed another person's unconscious mind as she flew. This one was crowded with worry about someone, and longing. That was silly! Koishi flew off to find this silly person. Maybe they'd be a silly friend!

The brunette human was flying pretty slowly, so Koishi easily caught up and drifted in front of the girl. She unconsciously noticed, and shifted her pace slightly so as not to run into Koishi without consciously realizing why. Her hat reminded Koishi of her own hat, only the ribbon was white instead of yellow and the bow was on the opposite side. Now that she looked a little closer, they were shaped differently too, but any part of Koishi that might have cared about the difference was too far gone to react.

"Hi! I like your Mr. Hat! It looks like my Mr. Hat!" Koishi said, appearing in the girl's perception.

"U-um, thanks…?" The girl fidgeted slightly, and drifted away just a bit. She looked nervous, and her subconscious mind had immediately picked up on Koishi's youkai nature.

Koishi liked it when people were scared of her, it made her feel good and strong! A tiny, distant part of her tickled her unconsciousness with a desire to not be feared, to make friends, but it didn't hold nearly enough sway.

She also liked fights. What was that thing she'd done when she fought those two strong humans…? Oh, right, a spell card duel! She liked those.

"Hey, hey, fight me! With spell cards!" Koishi said, a hollow grin on her face.

The girl's subconsciousness raced with panic.

"U-um, uh, o-okay?" she said. "How many cards…?"

"All of them!" Koishi immediately declared.

"I, um, only have one," the girl said.

"Okay, one is all so all is one so we'll do one! If I win, you have to…" Koishi gave the appearance of thinking, while random whims flitted through her unconscious mind. Well, she loved her sister, maybe this human would like her? "…Make friends with Big Sis!"

"Um, okay… a-and if I win, um, you'll leave me alone…?" The girl's voice was almost as shaky as her hands! Maybe she'd shake to a song if Koishi hummed enough.

"Okay! Readysetgo!" Koishi backed off, and whipped a spell card out of her sleeve.

"Basic Sign 'Just Kind Of a Bullet'!" the girl declared. She conjured a single danmaku bullet, and Koishi nimbly spun out of the way. If that was her entire spell card, this was going to be so easy!

"Rekindled 'The Embers of Love'!" Koishi sent several large pink heart bullets flying, one aimed directly at the girl and each one trailing white light behind it. The girl yelped, and ducked under one. The bullets bounced when they got too far, and the girl had to roll to the side to avoid the bullet's rebound. Koishi conjured another and sent it bouncing almost randomly around the area, and another, while the human girl wove frantically around the bullets, too panicked to even continue firing at Koishi.

It was over almost before it had started, with a single card. The girl yelped in pain as a bullet struck her leg. She hung in the air, panting with exertion, tears running down her cheeks.

Koishi dissipated the bullets, and floated over.

"I win!" she cheered, circling her defeated opponent. "That was fun! You're fun. Can I keep you? Big Sis has a lot of pets, but I only have a doggy. I promise I'll feed you."

"P-please, don't… I, I have friends, they'll miss me," the girl whimpered, trying to shift away from Koishi.

Koishi floated up and grabbed the girl's arm. She winced in pain and tried to pull away. Koishi tightened her grip, leaving tiny red marks in her skin from her sharp nails.

"Aww, you're silly. Big Sis is cool enough, and I'm sure she'll let me keep you," Koishi began.

Without warning, the terrified human fired two danmaku bullets, each more powerful than the typical stinging bullet. One exploded in Koishi's face, and the other grazed her third eye. Koishi let out an alarmed cry and let go, and the human cut her flight and dropped like a rock into the trees.

"Hey! Come back!" Koishi said, blinking to try and clear her vision. That explosion of light kinda hurt! She shook her head quickly, but by the time her vision had returned, her potential pet was gone from sight and from her range of sensing. She lifted a hand to her cheek and gently poked at it. The skin was slightly burned. It was almost like getting too close to one of Okuu's miniature suns.

 _That isn't a very good way to try and make friends. This is why I'm still alone, even if I can't read minds anymore_ , the rational part of Koishi whispered, louder than it had in years.

Koishi unconsciously rubbed her third eye. It had been sewn shut for a very long time, and the girl's danmaku bullet had damaged the thread. The eyelid twitched slightly, pulling on its weakened seal.

"Hmm, I should go home. Big Sis might miss me. Onwards!" Koishi twirled in the air, and started flying off towards the underground, humming with a bit less certainty than before.

* * *

"Renko, what happened to your arm?" Mima asked, looking over her apprentice with concern.

"I got into a fight with a youkai, and I think she was going to…" Renko trailed off, trying to remember. "…I don't remember, but it sounded bad? So I shot her again and ran, even though I had lost the duel."

Mima raised an eyebrow.

"You don't remember? What kind of youkai was it?"

Renko frowned absently at the floor.

"…I don't know. I just know there was a youkai, I lost a spell card duel, and she grabbed my arm." Renko touched the bruises gingerly, and winced.

She was sure she would unconsciously recognize her attacker if she saw her.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

Sorry this is a tad short, but it IS just an intermission. The next full chapter will be posted on Monday. As an aside... Koishi is very difficult to portray well. I hope I did alright. These intermissions are a chance for me to write someone who isn't Renko for a change of pace. This one still has Renko in it, but not all of them will.


	6. 3, Part 1

Chapter 6: 3, Part 1

* * *

Renko took a deep breath, quietly appreciating the scent of the winter snow mixed with the delicious smell of freshly-grilled lamprey.

"Thank you for lunch, Lorelei," Renko said, smiling politely at Mystia.

"Anytime, Usami. You know, you can call me Mystia if you like. You've been a wonderful customer this past week," the night sparrow said. At the moment, she was cleaning the grill of her stand.

Renko's life had managed to settle into a sort of routine over the last three weeks, even with the strangeness of Gensokyo. In the mornings, she had taken a job in the human village delivering mail; when the work was done, she made sure to eat something before flying to Mima's house to continue her studies of magic. She was still staying with Alice, but had offered to pay the dollmaker rent and money for the food she ate, which Alice had happily accepted.

Most days, her lunch had been Mystia's grilled lamprey. Between that and rent, she didn't exactly have much spending money, but she hadn't found a need for it yet.

"Ah, um, thank you, Mystia. I hope I can continue to be a good customer," Renko said with a delighted smile. She hadn't expected to end up friends with youkai, but here she was. Mystia had never been anything but pleasant.

"I hope so too. Youkai don't usually buy from me, so most of my business is from humans. And the more humans trust me, the better I'll do. I'm trying to save up to start a proper restaurant!" Mystia's eyes glimmered just a bit.

"I'm sure it'll be the best restaurant," Renko said with a smile. She took a sip from her water bottle, and put it back in her bag. "I should go, though… Lady Mima said today she's going to start teaching me elemental magic, and that we're going on a field trip, now that I can actually use danmaku."

"Sounds horribly boring, but if you like that stuff, I won't judge," Mystia said, tone lightly teasing. "Have fun!"

"Thank you!" Renko waved, and took off flying just above the trees. It was such a fast and easy way to travel that, outside the village, she rarely walked. She still wasn't anywhere near as fast as Reimu or Marisa, but she'd been slowly improving.

As she flew, she watched the ground. She glided over a frozen pond, and smiled when she could calculate her location through the reflected stars in the ice. She certainly hadn't been able to do that back home.

Quite suddenly, a blur shot past her even faster than Marisa, and Renko yelped and held her hat to her head so it wouldn't blow away in the rush of air. She looked up to find a woman in black and white with crow wings and a red hat and tall sandals. The obvious crow tengu had a camera around her neck and a notepad and pen in hand, and a fan strapped to her belt.

"Hello, hello! Aya Shameimaru, I'm with the Bunbunmaru newspaper. Can I get an interview and some photos? I'm sure my readers would like to know about the mysterious girl who's been seen with some of the more notable people around the Forest of Magic," the tengu said. Her voice was quite animated and expressive.

Renko blinked a few times. Her, interesting enough to interview? She really didn't think so.

"Um, if you really want to, but, uh… I'm supposed to be meeting someone soon. Do you mind if I keep flying while you, uh, interview me?" Renko said, giving a shy half-smile.

"If you don't want to, maybe a spell- wait, really? Nobody ever agrees without a fight. Sure, though. Alright, first question- what's your name? And I'm pretty sure you're a human, can you confirm this?" Aya quickly snapped a photo, then readied her notepad and drifted alongside Renko.

"Renko Usami, and yes, I'm a human. Um, it's nice to meet you, Shameimaru," Renko said. The fact she had a camera was surprising, but she quickly decided not to question it.

"Interesting name. Hm, hm… Alright, so, you've been seen coming and going from Alice Margatroid's house. What's your relationship with her like?" Aya grinned over her notepad, clearly trying to insinuate something inappropriate. Renko kept a straight face. There was only one person she'd ever even consider that sort of thing with.

"Well, I don't have my own place to live, so she lets me pay rent to sleep in her guest room. We talk sometimes, we're definitely on friendly terms, and her dolls are neat," Renko said. Simple and honest, it'd do.

"I see…" Aya almost sounded disappointed, but quickly moved on. "And Marisa Kirisame?"

"She helped me find someone to teach me magic. She reminds me of my best friend, a little." Renko frowned almost imperceptibly at the reminder of why she'd come here.

"Oh? Tell me about this best friend of yours," Aya said, readying her pen.

"Well… she went missing, and I'm learning magic so I can find her. She's really important to me… ah, here." Renko took out the Sealing Club notebook, and flipped it open to one of the pictures of herself and Maribel. Aya eagerly took a look, and then blinked and floated back a little.

"…Oh dear, I can't publish that. Even if it isn't her, that'd be way too close to violating an agreement… Well, let's see about something else!"

Over the course of the next several minutes, Aya questioned Renko on her daily life and relationships, slowly growing more discouraged by Renko's entirely innocent answers.

Aya sighed. "I don't suppose you've heard anything interesting that doesn't have to do with your best friend?"

"Um…" Renko tilted her head slightly. "…Mystia Lorelei is looking to open a restaurant?"

"Ooh, really? Thanks for the lead! Bye!"

In a blinding whoosh, Aya was gone again. Renko sighed and put away her book before she continued on her way.

* * *

Renko landed in front of Mima's house with no further interruptions. Mima was already waiting for her, along with Marisa, and—

"Margatroid? I didn't expect to see you," Renko said, waving hello to Alice and the other two.

"Mima asked, and I _am_ a magician, so…" Alice said with a small shrug. Two dolls floated on either side of her, and Renko quickly recognized them as Shanghai and Hourai—she had a special shelf for them.

"Well, Usami, are you all set? This is a bit of a trek at your pace, but it shouldn't be too bad," Mima said. She twirled her staff once.

"Yes, Lady Mima! I have all my notes, and I don't have anything I need to be doing." Renko smiled a bit proudly.

"'Lady' Mima?" Alice glanced at Mima with one eyebrow raised.

"Someday, when you have apprentices, you'll understand," Mima said serenely. "Anyways, let's get going."

Maria hopped on her broom and zipped above the trees to wait for the others, and Alice started to outpace Renko quickly before noticing that she and Mima were taking their time.

"You're not very fast, are you?" Alice asked.

"I-I've only been able to fly for a week! To me, this _is_ fast," Renko said, frowning.

"Oh, right. Apologies." Alice chuckled quietly. "You've just been fitting into day-to-day life so well I'm already starting to forget you're an outsider. Or, you were an outsider, might be more appropriate at this point."

"Yeah, it's only obvious because she's sooo slooow," Marisa said, saying the last two words in a deep, purposely slowed voice. Mima laughed, Alice tried not to, and Renko pretended to pout. Even she started giggling when Mima patted her head, though.

As they flew, they naturally settled into a sort of formation. Marisa was in front, while Renko tailed directly behind her. Mima casually glided along to one side of Renko, while Alice floated on her other side. Renko felt a little bad for making everyone else match her pace, but the only way to get faster was to practice.

After a while, Marisa spoke up.

"Hey, hey, Usami. Look what I have, ze!" The witch proceeded to hold up a pair of Renko's pale pink underwear.

 _"How did you get that?!"_ Renko flushed solid red.

"Marisa, if you break into my house again I'm going to break your nose!" Alice's tone held only exasperated frustration.

Mima started to fall behind, as she was laughing so hard she wouldn't have been able to breathe if she were still alive.

"Ahaha! Catch me if you caaan!" Marisa sped off, trailing giggles behind her.

"No faaair!" Renko cried, trying her best to fly faster. Her speed completely failed to increase.

As Renko struggled to catch up to Marisa in vain, Mima drifted up to Renko. She glanced over her body thoughtfully.

"Hm, hm, what an embarrassing problem. Usami, if you let me use your body, we can go get your underwear back," Mima suggested, grinning widely. Renko glanced at Alice, confident that if this was a bad idea, the dollmaker would say something. Alice met her gaze, and half-shrugged.

"Um… as long as you give it back afterwards, sure," Renko said. Mima's grin widened, and she proceeded to phase through Renko. From the outside, it appeared she had vanished, but Renko could feel her aura practically envelop her, compressing her own and forcing it under her skin.

The first thing Renko noticed was that while on the surface, Mima's ghostly form had felt icy cold, the evil spirit was almost painfully hot to the touch now that their forms overlapped. An intense presence made her feel like she was forced into the back of her head even though her senses were working just fine, and Renko watched as her body moved without her command. Mima daintily adjusted Renko's hat on her head and twirled once.

"Hm. Not bad. You could stand to eat a bit more, though, you're pretty scrawny," Mima said in Renko's voice. The tone and manners were still Mima's, and Renko couldn't help but find it very strange.

 _Uh, thank you…?_ Renko tried to say. She couldn't move her own mouth to speak. It bothered her, but she quickly found herself too interested to care when Mima executed a complex spell in seconds, and black, star-patterned wings made of solidified magical energy formed on her back. She quickly tried to memorize what Mima had done, and made a mental note to ask about it later. They took off flying, and Renko watched in awe as Mima guided her through the sky at an almost dizzying speed. Alice actually struggled to keep up, trailing further behind them with each moment, and ahead, they were quickly catching up to an oblivious Marisa.

With a flick of her wrist, Mima conjured an immaterial card into Renko's hand.

"Archmagic 'Downfall of the Inattentive Ex-Apprentice'!" Mima declared, activating the card. A static sphere of danmaku bullets appeared around Marisa, and she yelped in pain as she promptly collided with several of them.

"Damnit, Meemz!" Marisa winced and paused in the air, shaking herself off. The akuryou's essence poured out of Renko and she reformed beside her. Renko sighed in relief, glad to have control of herself again, though she couldn't help but frown when she noticed she no longer had the conjured wings.

"The best part is that you always fall for it. Now give Usami her underwear back," Mima said. The end of her ghostly tail was flickering back and forth almost happily, and she had a sincere smile in place of her usual mischievous grin. Renko briefly wondered what Mima felt when she possessed someone, but that train of thought was interrupted when Marisa simply crumpled the fabric into a ball and threw it. She dove forwards to catch it, and hastily stuffed it into her pocket.

"Well, I mighta lost, ze…" Marisa quickly regained her grin. "But we got to go a lot faster!" She pointed off ahead, where a frozen lake had come into view.

"You were planning this just to circumvent Usami's awful flight speed?" Mima blinked. "I'm… I'm impressed, Marisa."

Marisa's grin stayed firmly in place as Alice finally caught up.

"For the love of Shinki, you two," Alice said, almost pouting.

"Three," Mima said helpfully.

"I'm not blaming Usami, she's just caught up in your nonsense." Alice sighed, and glanced at Renko. "Are you alright, Usami? After all, Mima did just possess you."

"I'm fine. It, uh, was weird, but not that bad," Renko said. Alice nodded, relieved.

The group started floating onwards again, towards the frozen lake, and Mima hummed cheerfully to herself as they went. Soon, they started over the lake. Below, a fairy with icy wings flew by, pelting a green-haired fairy with snowballs. Both were laughing, and neither noticed the magicians.

It wasn't too long until their destination came into view- a large mansion built of red brick, with an imposing clock tower standing above the rest of the building.

"That's, um, a pretty interesting building," Renko commented as they drew closer. "It's really… red."

"That would be the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's owned by a rather obnoxious vampire, but one of her close friends, who also lives here, is an extremely gifted elemental magician. We're going to ask her for a demonstration, and see if we can get her to let you read some of her texts on the subject," Mima explained.

"Hey, Remi ain't that bad. You just gotta smile and nod even though she says dumb shit," Marisa said.

A sound like air escaping a balloon came from Alice, and Renko quickly realized it was poorly-suppressed laughter.

"Anyways, it'll be good to see Patchy on friendly terms, ze."

* * *

Alice, Renko, and Marisa landed in quick succession outside the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Mima hovered just behind them, still humming cheerfully.

A red-haired youkai woman in a green outfit was leaning on the wall. For a moment, Renko thought she was asleep, but she looked up sharply the moment Marisa took a step forwards.

"Damnit, Kirisame, do we have to- oh, it's not just you?" The woman blinked in surprise.

"Nope! Meemz wants to introduce her new student to Patchy, ze, and I thought I'd tag along and play with Flan," Marisa said.

"Is that safe?" Alice asked.

"Totally! I do it all the time." Marisa gave a thumbs-up.

"Oh, that's a relief. Okay. Let me just…" The woman took out a small device Renko recognized as a very antiquated handheld radio. She spoke into it, holding it like a cell phone. "Sakuya, Marisa's here- yes, for once in her life. She wants to see Flandre, and she brought Margatroid, Mima, and someone I don't recognize but who is apparently Mima's student to see Patchouli. What? Oh, human. Uh, probably not, and I think Mima would- yeah. Okay, I'll let them through."

"Alright, you're free to enter." The woman undid a latch on the heavy-looking iron gates and pushed them open with a single hand.

"Whee! Thanks, China!" Marisa said.

"My name's not China!" the woman insisted. "It's Meiling! Come on, this isn't that hard!"

Marisa laughed and sprinted ahead, broom in hand. Meiling sighed, and as they followed, Renko turned to the gate guard.

"Um, thank you, Miss Meiling. I'm Renko Usami. It was nice to meet you," she said, and gave a small bow. Meiling smiled.

"Aww. You're just saying that to make up for Marisa, aren't you?"

"Um… a little." Renko glanced away sheepishly.

"Haha. Don't worry, I think it's sweet. Have a good afternoon, Usami!" Meiling cheerfully tipped her hat, and Renko waved and ran to catch up with Mima and Alice.

* * *

Inside, the mansion was just as red as outside, and dimly lit, with elaborate gothic decor. Renko thought to herself that it certainly looked like the sort of place a vampire would live. Marisa had already made her way off somewhere, but as Renko looked around, suddenly a silver-haired young woman in a maid uniform had appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, Sakuya." Mima gave a nod of greeting.

"Hello, Izayoi," Alice said pleasantly, as Renko blinked in surprise. Okay, teleporting maids could still surprise her.

"Good day, Margatroid, Mima. And who might this be?" Sakuya looked at Renko expectantly.

"I'm Renko Usami, um, pleasure to meet you." Renko smiled, even though she couldn't read the maid's expression.

"I will be escorting you to the library. Follow me," Sakuya said with a completely even tone. She turned and walked down the hall—Renko could only describe the way she moved as gliding, even though she wasn't flying. She seemed so… perfect. Not one hair out of place, not a single crack in her neutral affect. It made Renko extremely uncomfortable for a reason she couldn't place.

Renko stayed silent the entire way as Sakuya led them through winding halls, seemingly at random, until they reached a large set of double doors. The maid opened them, and Renko couldn't suppress a tiny gasp of astonishment.

The enormous, multi-layered room in front of them looked easily large enough to occupy the entire space of the building from outside. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the walls, and filled much of the space in between. Everything was ornately carved from warm-toned wood, and the air smelled of old books.

"So many books…" Renko muttered in awe as they entered. Sakuya was already gone.

"Usami, close your mouth before Koakuma decides to erotically feed you a banana," Mima said helpfully.

"That's a brilliant idea, I should buy some bananas," said a red-haired girl as she walked out from between the shelves. Renko noticed at once the twin pairs of black batlike wings on her head and her back, and the black, spade-tipped tail that swished near her ankles. Almost immediately afterwards, she noticed her somewhat exaggerated chest size, and how her figure seemed almost perfectly designed for one thing in particular.

Renko decided to stare timidly at the floor and not engage the obvious succubus in conversation.

"Good afternoon, Koakuma. How are you?" Alice, meanwhile, greeted her just as pleasantly as she had Sakuya, if not more so.

"I'm pretty good! Same old, really. Have you heard from Makai lately?" Koakuma smiled hopefully.

"Not recently. Which means I probably will, imminently," Alice said with a very faint sigh. Before Renko could ask, Mima spoke up.

"Hello, Koakuma. Would you be a dear and fetch Patchouli? I do believe she's expecting us," Mima said.

"Sure!" Koakuma tried, and failed, to make eye contact with Renko so she could give a flirty wink. After a moment, she gave up and fluttered off.

"You probably didn't give Patchouli the best first impression," Mima remarked to Renko.

"W-what?" Renko frowned.

"Koakuma is her familiar. She uses her in part to judge people before meeting them personally. Now, I'm sure she'll understand when she actually speaks to you, of course," Mima said.

Renko couldn't help but think that a librarian mage living with a succubus familiar sounded like the premise for an erotic fantasy novel. She sighed quietly.

"…Sometimes, I wish I was less shy," Renko said, looking up at Mima. The archmage took Renko's hat off and affectionately ruffled Renko's hair.

"I think you're adorable. And so well-behaved! I haven't had to discipline you much at all. And you work so hard, too. At this rate, you'll be able to take Rumia in a fair fight by the end of the month," Mima said. Alice suppressed a chuckle.

"I, um," Renko started. Mima put her hat back in place, and then picked Renko up. Renko let out a startled yelp and fidgeted slightly in the spirit's frigid grip.

"What." The violet-haired magician who had just arrived on the scene stared flatly at Mima and Renko.

"Patchy, look at my apprentice, she's so cute," Mima said with a grin.

"Lady Mima, y-you're cooold, please put me down…" Renko whined.

"Technically, I'm actually very hot, I just absorb heat from things I touch and it makes you feel cold." Mima's grin stayed firmly in place. Renko squirmed more, and managed to flip herself around in Mima's arms.

"This is absurd," Patchouli muttered.

"Lady Mima, pleeeease…" Renko tried to squirm her way out of Mima's grasp. Mima proceeded to unceremoniously drop her on the floor. Renko hastily got up and fixed her hat and skirt, then timidly glanced over at Patchouli, half-expecting the magician to be irritated with her.

Patchouli's expression was difficult to read.

"Um, um… hello, I'm Renko Usami, and it's very nice to meet you," Renko said, and bowed politely. She couldn't keep a bit of nervousness out of her tone.

"I see. I am Patchouli Knowledge. Normally, I wouldn't bother with this sort of thing, but Mima offered me satisfactory compensation, and I suppose we could always use more elemental mages." Patchouli's voice was very flat and even. Mima pulled a sack that looked like it was stuffed with books out of her cloak, and Koakuma fluttered back over on her black wings, took it, and zipped off.

"Now, as for elemental energies, they're fairly straightforward…"

* * *

The demonstrations of elemental magic honestly didn't seem to compare to Marisa's 'Spark' spell. Even so, she paid careful attention to the sensations around her as Patchouli conjured water and fire, among other things, from nothing. It was still magic, and she still wanted to learn.

"Why don't you try, Renko? You could feel what she was doing, right?" Mima gently nudged Renko with her elbow as Patchouli concluded her demonstration.

"If you are going to try to conjure elements in my library, I would ask that you restrain yourself to the ones less likely to damage my books if you cause a catastrophic reaction," Patchouli said in the same almost-bored tone.

"Um, okay. And of course…" Renko focused her magic, trying to conjure the element of wood. It had a distinctly sturdy but flexible feel, and she tried to make her magic take on the qualities she'd sensed in Patchouli's magic.

Her aura responded, and though she felt rather drained immediately after, a tiny sliver of wood, only the size of a needle, materialized over her palm. She held it up triumphantly.

"Take that, law of conservation of mass!" she said with a smile.

Mima applauded, and Alice smiled and made Shanghai applaud as well. Patchouli's expression didn't change.

"For someone who had no experience with magic three weeks ago, I suppose it's acceptable. You should practice," Patchouli said.

"I, I definitely plan to. I want to be a really good magician, and I know magic gets easier the more you do it, as long as you don't burn out all your power," Renko said. She dispelled the magic, and the sliver of wood vanished.

For a moment, she almost thought she saw Patchouli smile.

"Well, as long as you're here, I have a great number of magical texts. As long as you're very careful with them, I would not mind allowing you to look through some. Studying theory is just as important as practicing application, of course," Patchouli said.

Mima raised her hand.

"…Yes, yes, you may as well. After all, you did return a selection of extremely valuable tomes from your thieving ex-apprentice's house."

"Excellent!" And with that, Mima darted off. Patchouli sighed.

"…Usami, allow me to show you to the texts appropriate for your level."

"Alright. Thank you!" Renko followed Patchouli back into the bookshelves with a smile on her face. This field trip was turning out to be very productive.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

The intermission takes place during the interim between her arrival and this chapter. There won't be another intermission for some time, though, as the first real plot arc after the introductory one is now in session. Also, I'm shooting for somewhat longer chapters now so I can be sure things happen in each.


	7. 3, Part 2

Chapter 7: 3, Part 2

* * *

Renko wasn't sure how long she'd been reading, and she didn't care. The book she was practically buried in was all about how symbols and runes could be enchanted to use or alter the ambient magic around them, and she was attempting to write a fairly simple series of runes into her Sealing Club journal that would keep it safe from water and flame. She couldn't risk losing her only tangible connection to Maribel to the environment, after all.

Everything was quiet, and peaceful. Mima had floated past and checked Renko's work a few times, and Sakuya had brought some delicious pastries around, but other than that, there hadn't been any interruptions. She had just finished the second-to-last rune.

Suddenly, though, there was an earsplitting crunch, and the floor shattered upwards only about three meters from where Renko was sitting. Renko managed to not flinch and ruin her work.

"Patchy! Sakuya!" The voice that called out sounded almost like a young child's, and was bordering on panic. As the dust settled, Renko could first make out a set of glowing crystals in all the colors of the rainbow. Then, the metallic wing-frames they hung from, and finally, the blonde girl dressed in red and pale pink who was looking around almost frantically and hovering over the new hole in the floor.

"Flandre, what did you do to the floor?" Patchouli demanded, storming over.

"I only broke it a little, but I needed to be up here right away! Patchy, I was playing tag with Marisa, and, and I was chasing her, 'cause I was 'it', and she went like whoosh and I turned real fast and I accidentally hit her with my wing and she fell on the ground and she won't get up! S-someone needs to fix her!" Flandre's wings twitched anxiously as she spoke. Patchouli hesitated, and clear concern flickered across her face.

"…You did the right thing, coming to get me. Show me where you left her," Patchouli said, tone just the faintest bit shaky. "…if Kirisame's pulling some kind of trick, I swear…"

Flandre immediately dropped back down, and Patchouli coughed into her sleeve before following. Renko abandoned her notebook and darted over to the edge of the hole in the floor. Marisa… couldn't really have gotten hurt like that, could she?

The room below was dark, but the crystals on Flandre's wings provided a source of illumination. Renko watched as Flandre led Patchouli over to Marisa, who was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Her hat was nearly an arms-length away, and her broom had rolled a fair distance from her.

Even from her vantage point, Renko could see that heavy bruising had started to discolor half of Marisa's face, and that the hair on that side of her head was shot through with a large, slowly-spreading patch of red. Almost mechanically, Patchouli pulled out a small radio identical to Meiling's.

"Sakuya. Basement. Now," she said into it. The maid blinked into existence beside her the very next moment.

"Kirisame needs medical attention, and quickly. Will you…?" Patchouli looked up at Sakuya.

"Consider it done," Sakuya said. She delicately gathered Marisa up in her arms, careful not to jostle her head, and then vanished.

"Sakuya's gonna fix her, right…?" Flandre asked, looking up at Patchouli.

"Yes. Though, Flandre. You should stop playing physical games with humans. Just danmaku and board games, okay? It's much harder to fix humans than youkai," Patchouli said. She coughed into her sleeve a few times.

"I… okay… I don't wanna break my friends." Flandre pouted. "I can still play tag with Meiling, right?"

"Of course." Patchouli picked Marisa's hat and broom up off the floor. "Now, Flandre, I need to take these to Mima. Stay here, alright?"

Flandre's pouting deepened, and she nodded halfheartedly. Patchouli floated back up from the basement, and barely even glanced at Renko as she landed and walked past her.

Renko got up and backed away from the hole in the floor, trying to calm herself. Her heart was racing, and she was struggling to get her thoughts around the concept that Marisa—seemingly invincible Marisa—had just apparently been seriously injured by a youkai.

Accidentally.

While playing tag.

It didn't even feel real.

Renko retreated back to her notebook, and sat back down, staring at the runes on the page. She took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down, and mentally told herself that Marisa was going to be fine, not to worry. She picked her pen back up, and traced in the last rune. The entire enchantment glowed for a second-

"Hiya! Whatcha doooing?" Flandre asked, leaning over Renko's shoulder. Renko screamed, flailed, and fell out of her chair sideways.

"Whoops! Are you okay?" Flandre circled around and crouched next to Renko, staring at her curiously. Her red eyes were brighter than Renko's, and cast a faint glow. Up close, she really did look like a child, maybe a young teen at best.

"I, um, I… I will be?" Renko sat up, and scooted back a bit, biting her lower lip nervously.

"That's good then! I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Flandre Scarlet. You can call me Flandre, or just Flan! What's your name? Are you one of Marisa's friends?" Flandre apparently failed to notice Renko's discomfort, and leaned closer. Her crystal-lined wings made faint chiming sounds as she moved.

"I'm Renko Usami, and yes, I'm friends with Kirisame. Nice to meet you…" Renko hesitantly offered a handshake. Flandre took it, and Renko winced in pain from the strength of her grip. She could definitely see how someone could get hurt even just innocently playing with this girl.

Mima, Patchouli, and Alice all rushed out from between the bookshelves, looking tense, but they all quickly relaxed.

"Flandre, I thought I told you to stay downstairs," Patchouli said. She walked over and lifted the girl up and away from Renko by her collar. Flandre crossed her arms and frowned.

"But it's boooring, and I don't feel like sitting still. I'm worried about Marisa," Flandre said. Mima slipped around them, and offered Renko a hand. Renko took it with the hand she hadn't used to shake Flandre's, and Mima pulled Renko to her feet.

"If you don't want to sit around, you can help me fix the floor," Patchouli said.

"Fiiine…"

With that, Patchouli set Flandre down, and the two of them walked back over to the hole in the floor.

"Patchouli told us what happened. I think we should end our visit for today and go to make sure Marisa is alright. Normally, I wouldn't call off a field trip for this sort of thing, but… head injuries are serious, and if anything happens, I want to be there for Marisa. I am the closest thing she has to a parent, after all," Mima said. The end of her wispy tail was anxiously flicking back and forth.

Renko blinked a few times. This really was that serious…

"R-right," she said. She quickly grabbed her notebook, and closed the magical text she'd been working out of. Mima started casting a spell, and Renko blinked again when two starry wings of magical energy materialized on her back. She experimentally fluttered them—they responded as easily as her limbs—and touched one. It felt like cool glass even though it moved like fabric, and she couldn't feel herself touching it. They simply lacked sensation beyond a vague awareness of their position.

"Normally, I'd be patient with your flight speed, but not this time. Come along." Mima took off flying across the library, and Alice followed. Renko tailed after them, easily keeping pace with Alice, and Mima opened a window to let them outside. The sun had set already, and Renko glanced up at the stars. They looked so beautiful, though she couldn't believe they'd really been there for four hours.

"Um, where are we going?" Renko asked as she flew after Mima. She wasn't sure why, but just having the enchantment on her that gave her the wings increased her top speed, and flapping them shifted all the magic in the air around her to make her even faster. It was almost a bit nerve-wracking, flying around at such a high speed.

"Eientei. Yagokoro is easily the best doctor in all of Gensokyo. There's no doubt Sakuya took Marisa there," Mima said. Renko nodded, and fell silent.

The three magicians skimmed several feet over the treetops, and Renko carefully took note of where they were heading in relation to everywhere she'd been so far. They crossed over a river, and the terrain below gave way to a clear area, then to a bamboo forest. Here, Mima slowed, and let Alice take the lead. Alice led them in a sweeping path over the forest, before a clearing occupied by a large building suddenly came into view. Renko tilted her head. She certainly hadn't seen it until just then… ah well.

As they landed in front of the large, low structure, she memorized the location. Mima dispelled the enchanted wings with a flick of her wrist. Light trickled from the windows and around the door into the dark forest surrounding them. Alice walked up, and lightly knocked on the door. For a moment, there was silence.

Then, a young-looking woman with long, shiny black hair opened the door. Renko noticed at once that she was stunningly beautiful. Not like Koakuma, who was almost exaggeratedly sexual—this girl almost radiated a calm elegance.

It was a bit marred by the fact she rubbed her eyes tiredly on her pink, patterned sleeve.

"Mmgh. I'm guessing you're here because of Marisa, right?" she asked.

"Yes, we are," Alice said. The young woman stepped back, out of the doorway.

"Right. Izayoi said some of her friends would probably turn up. You're going to want to take the first left, then the third right, and then the second left, and go straight and you shouldn't be able to miss it. I'm going back to bed," she said.

"Thank you, Houraisan," Alice said. The young woman yawned, and nodded. Alice didn't wait another moment, and Renko and Mima quickly followed her inside.

As they followed her directions, Renko spoke up.

"Um… who was that?"

"Kaguya. Exiled moon princess," Mima said.

Renko nodded, and glanced back over her shoulder almost on reflex. She had read the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter before. It was a bit odd to think that they'd just gotten directions from an apparently very sleepy Kaguya, but then again, well… this was Gensokyo.

Kaguya's directions took them through a doorway that was labeled "Eientei Medical Clinic", and then to an open door where Renko could hear a bit of activity from inside.

"Kirisame. Kirisame, stop trying to move, you're going to hurt yourself. Don't make me tie you to the bed, because I will. Yes, okay. Stay."

Alice and Mima peered around the doorframe, and Renko leaned around Alice to see as well. A silver-haired woman in a red and blue dress patterned with stars was standing over a clean white hospital-style bed. She had her hand firmly on Marisa's shoulder, and was looking her over with a frown. Marisa's head was crowned with bandages, and she was lying on her back and staring up with a distantly confused expression.

Eirin Yagokoro took her hand off of Marisa's shoulder and waited a moment. When Marisa didn't move, she sighed softly, then turned around.

"Hello, Akagane, Margatroid. I would say good evening, but the circumstances aren't exactly good. Come in," she said. Alice stepped into the room, and Renko followed, staying to the edge of the room so she wouldn't be in the way.

"I told you to call me Mima years ago," Mima said with a twinge of annoyance sneaking into her worried tone. She floated over to the side of the bed. Marisa's eyes flickered to her, but there was no sign of recognition. "…Marisa…?"

"She doesn't recognize… well, anything, really. She's technically conscious, but her brain was badly damaged when Izayoi brought her in, and I can only treat physical damage, not restore her mind." Eirin's frown deepened.

"H-how can it be that bad? She was just playing tag…" Mima started to reach out to stroke Marisa's hair, but pulled her hand back when Eirin shot her a look.

"You don't seem to get it. She's human. She still has a fractured skull, which is why I'm not letting her move and I'm not letting you touch her. If she'd been hit much harder, she would be dead," Eirin said.

"You can't be serious. Are you really saying you can't fix this?" Alice looked and sounded calm, but Shanghai was betraying her feelings by worriedly circling over Marisa.

"It's outside the bounds of medicine. I'd need to create a medicine that can force a freshly regrown brain to comply perfectly with a backed-up record of that individual's personality and knowledge. While that's technically possible, I wouldn't have a record of Kirisame to restore her with," Eirin said.

Renko stared at Marisa, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. Just like that, she was even beyond the hope of magical medicine? She suddenly felt very fragile and vulnerable.

"There has to be something that could help her, right?" Mima tightly gripped her staff and didn't take her eyes off the injured witch.

"Do you have a psychic youkai with an eidetic or nearly eidetic memory who has had extensive contact with Kirisame, possesses intimate knowledge of her identity, and who is capable of powerful hypnosis?" Eirin asked, in a tone that implied it was a rhetorical question.

"I…" Mima frowned, and shifted slightly.

"Actually, yes," Alice said. Mima looked up sharply, and Eirin tilted her head.

"Explain," Eirin said.

"Well, for some unfathomable reason, after the underground incident last year, Marisa ended up befriending a satori," Alice said. "She's been back to visit her several times since. I believe she actually returned from her last trip the day before I met Renko."

"That would certainly do. Could you bring the satori here? Attempting to move Kirisame around in this state would be very unwise, as she isn't fully healed." Eirin tapped her fingers thoughtfully.

Alice shook her head.

"…I can't. The satori lives underground," Alice said.

"What…?" Renko tilted her head in confusion.

"Youkai from the surface aren't allowed underground, and vice versa," Alice said.

Renko blinked several times.

"…You're a youkai?"

"Margatroid, you didn't tell her?" Mima raised an eyebrow.

"Well, she never asked. Yes, Usami, I'm a youkai. A youkai magician, to be precise. I used to be a human, though that's not particularly important right this moment. What matters is that I can't travel to the underground and bring back Marisa's satori friend," Alice said.

Renko nodded slowly. Okay, Alice was a youkai. No big deal. So far, most youkai had been pretty pleasant, and Alice had been very... normal. So normal Renko hadn't caught on, anyways. When Alice had specified that surface youkai couldn't go underground, an idea had popped up in the back of her head. It was probably a bad idea, but she decided to voice it anyways.

"So… if youkai can't freely come and go, that means humans still can, right?" Renko asked.

"Of course. Marisa couldn't have visited that satori all the time if humans couldn't," Alice said.

"No," Mima said before Renko could speak.

"But, but I'm a human, I could go see if I can convince the youkai to help," Renko said.

"Usami, the underground is dangerous, you're extremely slow, and satori are fickle and antisocial creatures. And on top of all that, there are no stars underground, so your ability is worthless and you will probably get lost. I said no," Mima said, and crossed her arms.

"I can declare spell card rules if I'm attacked, you could put the wing spell on me, and if this satori is Marisa's friend, they should want to help," Renko said. "A-and I have a good sense of direction without my ability! Really! I used to explore forests on foot where I couldn't see the sky."

"The 'wing spell' is highly experimental for use on anyone besides myself and I've already used it on you twice today. I have reason to believe that leaving it on you for long periods of time could cause side effects," Mima said.

Renko took careful note of the fact this was the only point Mima bothered to keep arguing.

"Well, isn't figuring out what to do about magic side effects better than this?" Renko gestured to Marisa, who completely failed to react.

Mima visibly tensed, and stared down at Marisa for several seconds. Without looking up from her ex-apprentice, Mima sighed, and spoke.

"…Fine. But you had better get back here with that satori, as soon as possible. You hear me? If you fail at this, you'll officially be my worst student ever."

Renko nodded, and bowed.

"Thank you, Lady Mima. I won't fail you, I promise!"

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

This one is a little shorter than the last two chapters, but I feel like enough happened that it'll do. To anyone that was wondering after the intermission whether Satori would come up? Well... yeah, and here's how! But, also, I wanted to show that while the youkai might not intentionally be a legitimate threat to its residents, Gensokyo still... isn't exactly a safe place to live. All it takes is one youkai who doesn't follow the rules, or one accident, and... well, humans are fragile.


	8. 3, Part 3

Chapter 8: 3, Part 3

* * *

"This is as far as I can go with you," Alice said, floating beside Renko. In front of them stretched the gaping mouth of a cavern that dropped steeply downwards. "…Good luck, Usami. You probably need it."

"Thank you, Margatroid. Don't worry. I'll come back safely with the satori. Um. Do you, uh, know their name?" Renko looked over at Alice.

"Uh… Well, I know her family name is Komeiji. I never caught her given name, but that should be enough," Alice said.

"Okay. See you soon." Renko bowed in midair, and then, with a flutter of the magical wings Mima had enchanted her with, she was off. The cavern quickly grew dark as she descended, and Renko focused her magic. She just needed a little light… she was sure she had enough magic…

A fireball flickered to life above Renko's palm, and she held it out to light her way. Just in time, too, as she yelped and stopped short before running into a massive spiderweb.

Renko frowned, and carefully inspected the web for a way around it. There was a narrow gap between the web and wall off to the side, and she eyed it carefully, trying to judge whether she would fit through.

"You probably shouldn't try it, dear, the underground's no place for humans, unless you're Kirisame," a rather cheerful voice said. Renko turned to see a youkai woman dangling upside-down from the cave ceiling by a silk thread.

"Oh! Um, sorry, but I have to. I need to help a friend," Renko said. The spider youkai nodded.

"Ah. Well, if you're coming here to help a friend, you must be a pretty determined human..." The spider youkai lowered herself the rest of the way to the ground and then easily flipped back onto her feet. "Whatever happens, you can't say I didn't warn you. But last time I tried to stop some humans coming down here, for their own good of course, they just beat me up and kept going. I'm not really in the mood for that."

Renko nodded, and watched the youkai approach. Honestly, she was very glad she didn't seem to want to fight. Renko was fairly sure she couldn't actually take a youkai in a fair match, even if she had traded out her pathetic self-defense spellcard for a real one.

The spider youkai rearranged the web just slightly so Renko could easily fit through the gap.

"Here, this way you won't tear it or get stuck. Good luck with your friend. Oh, and if you want to avoid a huge headache, don't take the first bridge you see. Keep flying until you see a raggedy old rope bridge and fly over that. Don't just try and fly over the chasm either, there's a really heavy downcurrent and without a bridge to break the wind a bit you'll get sucked down," she said. Renko carefully drifted through the hole in the spiderweb, then bowed to the youkai girl.

"Um, thank you very much. You're very nice," Renko said.

The spider girl giggled.

"Am I? Well, just be glad you're not a rude shrine maiden or an outsider and you didn't mess with my web. Take care now!"

She waved as Renko kept flying, and Renko returned the wave before simply focusing on lighting her way. After some time, she emerged into a massive cavern. She couldn't see too far with all the red haze, and there was a huge chasm cut into the ground. Renko could feel a cold breeze blowing towards it. There was a well-maintained stone bridge leading across the chasm, but somehow, it gave her a faint sense of unease. Taking the spider youkai's advice, she flew alongside the chasm for several minutes. There was indeed a second bridge, a very unstable-looking thing of rope and rotted wood that sagged under the wind. Renko nervously hovered closer. It looked really unsafe, but she'd only be flying...

She tucked in the magic wings as she drifted across. It made it slower, but the wind rushing around her and threatening to pull her down was easily enough to make it worth the extra time to cross. She sighed in relief as soon as she had made it. At last, she was in the underground proper.

* * *

It felt like she'd been flying for hours when Renko started to swerve in the air. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, and forced herself to keep going. It was late. She knew it was late, and that normally she would have gone to bed hours ago. Maintaining a fireball this whoe way didn't exactly help. Up ahead, she could see lights cutting through the haze, and she dispelled her fire-light and flew towards them. Soon, a well-lit town came into view. She flew up to the outskirts, and then landed, folding her enchanted wings against her back so they wouldn't get in the way. The stone-paved roads were lined with homes, market stalls, and shops. Renko looked around as she walked on, hoping that it wouldn't take too long to find this Komeiji person.

Before too much longer, she nearly collided with a tall, blonde woman with a large red horn in the center of her forehead.

"Ah, s-sorry!" Renko squeaked, stepping back.

"Don't worry about it, you're fine," the stranger said, smiling cheerily. She then looked Renko over a bit more closely, blinking in surprise. "…Hm? Hey, you're a human. I almost mistook you for some kind of youkai with those wings, I guess they're just magic. What are you down here for?"

"I, um, a friend of mine got hurt, and apparently someone down here can help. Um. Do you know where I'd find someone named Komeiji?" Renko couldn't help but feel nervous talking to a strange youkai all alone in a city full of youkai, especially when she caught the faint scent of alcohol and realized the woman must be an oni.

"You came down here all by yourself looking for Komeiji? Damn, you have some guts. That, or that's a really damn good friend. She lives in the Palace of Earth Spirits, it's off that way. Huge stained glass windows, you can't miss it. What's your name, anyways? I'm Yuugi Hoshiguma," the oni said.

"Renko Usami. Thank you for the directions. It was a pleasure to meet you." Renko bowed, and Yuugi chuckled.

"Well, good luck, Usami. Hope your friend turns out okay!" Yuugi watched as Renko unfolded the magic wings and took off, and waved as she flew on ahead.

* * *

Renko wobbled a bit in the air as the faintly-glowing pink, blue, and gold stained glass of the Palace of Earth Spirits came into view. Her stomach growled, and she realized that she hadn't eaten anything but a couple of pastries since her lunch at Mystia's stand. It was probably morning on the surface, and here she was, so tired she could barely fly straight and on an empty stomach, in unfamiliar territory.

She let her thoughts drift back to Marisa, not even able to recognize Mima, and pushed on. She had to do this.

Renko approached the imposing building, and tripped on the steps when she tried to land. Instead of knocking, she broke her fall with her arms against the heavy iron door, making a loud clang. Even laying down on the stone steps, she couldn't help feeling sleepy. It was a terrible place for a nap, but she just didn't want to get up.

She didn't realize she'd started to doze off, even when the door opened and someone gently picked her up and carried her inside.

* * *

Renko suddenly jolted awake, and realized that she must have fallen asleep. She looked around, taking note of the simple futon she had been placed on in contrast with the elaborate, black and red architecture. The room was small, and lit only by a simple lamp that held a luminous orb of light. Renko got up, and glanced at her back. The enchanted wings Mima had placed on her were still there. She felt one with her fingertips- it felt more solid, somehow. That would definitely be something to mention to Mima when she returned. For the time being, she needed to figure out where she was and what she was doing before anything else. She made her way over to the door. It was closed, but there was a note affixed to it.

"When you wake up, please come to my study. There is a map on the back of this note."

Renko took the note down, and flipped it over. There was indeed a delicately-sketched map, and Renko let herself out into the hall. A cat brushed past her as she followed the map, and soon, she came to a door that had a small heart insignia over the handle. It was apparently her destination.

She took a breath to steady herself, and knocked politely on the door.

"Come in," said a soft, even voice from the other side. Renko blinked twice at noticing that the voice managed to hold even less emotion than Patchouli's. Nonetheless, she opened the door and stepped in. The room was decorated much like the one she had woken up in, but it was lined with sparsely-filled bookshelves, and across from the door, a dusty but ornate chair faced a desk that held a typewriter.

The youkai girl in the chair had already turned her seat to face the door. Soft curls of lavender hair framed her pale face, and her slim frame was decorated in powder pink and pale blue clothes. What immediately caught Renko's attention, though, were her striking magenta eyes.

All three of them.

One eye, easily larger than a fist, was surrounded by red skin, and several long tendrils extended from it, holding it in place above her chest. This third eye didn't blink as the youkai quietly inspected Renko. Renko shifted a bit nervously, unsure of what she should say. That eye seemed almost familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen something like it.

She quickly decided on thanking the youkai for putting her somewhere safe when she practically passed out on her doorstep, but before she could actually speak, the youkai cut her off.

"You're welcome. I don't get many visitors, so I try to treat them well," she said.

Renko stared. Did the girl just read her mind…?

"Of course I did. And yes, I cut you off on purpose. It's a bit tiring, having to hear people say things in their heads and then echo it out loud. No, I can't stop reading your mind. That would be harmful to me." The youkai girl continued to watch Renko, even as she had answered each of her questions before she could voice them.

Renko sighed quietly, and decided to stop trying to speak out loud. The end result would be the same, anyways, and she couldn't bring herself to be upset with her over it.

 _I get the idea, I'll stop trying to talk. My name is Renko Usami. May I ask yours?_ Renko thought.

"…That's much better, thank you. I'm Satori Komeiji, it is a pleasure." Satori smiled, and offered her hand. Renko stepped forwards, and politely shook it. "You seem hungry. Would you like something to eat? I was just thinking of fixing myself something anyways."

 _That would be great, actually. Can I help? I can cook_ , Renko thought.

"Certainly. This way, then." Satori stood up, and led Renko out of the room. As they walked, Satori glanced at Renko again.

"…I'm a bit curious, though. You're human, aren't you? What are those wings?" she asked. A bit of curiosity had crept into her tone.

 _Oh, they're an enchantment that my teacher, Lady Mima, put on me. I'm really slow at flying on my own, and I needed to be faster to travel here._ Renko experimentally twitched one, and frowned slightly on noticing she could feel the motion more intensely.

"I see. It must be a very complex enchantment. This Mima must be very skilled." Satori held her hand out, and Renko nodded. She gently touched one of the magic wings. Renko couldn't feel her touch, and relaxed a bit. Alright, they were being normal again.

 _She is. It's an honor to study under her._ Renko smiled.

Satori led her through the halls to a fairly clean kitchen, and calmly directed Renko around it while also preparing things herself. Before too long, they were seated at one end of an entirely too large table with a teapot between them. Renko eagerly helped herself to the rolled omelet, cup of miso soup, and steamed rice on her plate. Satori hummed cheerfully to herself as they ate.

After a short while, Renko had finished her meal, and now they were simply sipping their tea.

"If I may… why did you come here, Usami? I'm not complaining, you're quite pleasant company, but I did mention I don't get many visitors," she said.

 _Right... You're friends with Marisa Kirisame, right?_

Satori nodded.

"Yes, actually. She visits me about once a month. I'm very fond of her," Satori said.

Renko felt a bit bad for breaking the news to her so suddenly.

 _She was seriously injured. She doesn't even seem to understand what anyone says around her. Margatroid and Yagokoro think you're the only person who can fix her. Miss Komeiji, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you please come with me and save Marisa?_

Satori set her teacup down, hands shaking slightly. She closed her eyes, though the third eye stayed open, and there was a full minute of silence before she spoke again.

"Even if I did wish to, leaving the underground willingly would break the treaty between the Ancient City and Youkai Mountain. My life would essentially be forfeit, and I wouldn't be able to return home. I can't come with you willingly," Satori said. She paused, collecting her words carefully.

Renko's heart sank a little. She didn't have the heart to try and force Satori to give up her safety and home.

"But, let's say someone were to challenge me to a danmaku duel, and the condition was that if they won, I would have no choice but to let them kidnap me, and take me to the surface…" Satori looked up at Renko.

Renko immediately caught the implication.

"Well, in that case I certainly couldn't be blamed for breaking the treaty. After all, I'd have no choice in the matter. It would be especially so if this hypothetical person were to duel me out in front of the Palace of Earth Spirits, so that my pets wouldn't even know I was being kidnapped, and if they were to avoid the Ancient City on the way back to the surface," Satori continued. "But it isn't as though anyone would do something like that, is it? Even though humans aren't part of the treaty and they can't be punished under it."

The youkai quickly drained her cup of tea, rather than daintily sipping it like she had been. Renko idly wondered if she could possibly be any more blatant about her intent.

"And it's a shame I'm not allowed to help, as I even know a shortcut to the surface so that none of the other youkai would see me leaving. Mm… On a completely unrelated note, would you like to go for a walk, outside? I have some lovely subterranean roses growing out in front," Satori said.

Renko nodded, and Satori stood up. She hovered off the floor, and started to float off down the hall. Renko followed her, fluttering her wings to keep up. Satori was surprisingly quick. Soon enough, they had made their way outside.

"Komeiji," Renko said once they were outside.

"Yes?" Satori said, as if she didn't already know what Renko was going to say.

"I, um, I challenge you to a spell card duel. If I win, you have to not put up a fight and let me take you to the surface," Renko said.

"I'll accept. One spell card each, and if I win, you have to proofread the first draft of the novel I'm writing," Satori said.

Renko couldn't help but be surprised by the fact that Satori would write a novel, but she suddenly found herself wanting to read it at some point.

"Sounds good to me." Renko flew away a short distance, and gathered her magic. She pulled a card out of her pocket. She'd only managed to make one spell card, and she hoped it would be enough to defeat Satori.

"Space Sign 'Shooting Star'!" Renko declared, and the card glowed.

"Ice Sign 'Icicle Fall'." Satori twirled once in the air, and proceeded to stay right where she was. She conjured a series of icy-looking danmaku bullets, firing them in a series of slow-moving lines that crossed over. There was a fairly wide spot in front of her with no bullets whatsoever.

It was painfully obvious that she was doing her best to throw the fight, while still putting up enough of a fight to call it one.

Renko zigzagged her way through the slow bullets to the safe spot, while firing off rings of tiny white danmaku bullets. It took a bit of ducking and weaving, but once she made it, she conjured a single, bright danmaku bullet that flew straight at Satori. It left a trail of light behind it, and Satori dodged it and ran right into a small bullet. She winced, and her bullets vanished.

"Oh no, I've lost. Whatever will I do," she said, sounding almost bored.

"I guess you're coming with me, then. Uh. C'mon, I don't want to waste any time," Renko said. Satori nodded, and Renko set off in the direction of the underground's exit.

Satori started humming again as they skirted well around the city. Renko couldn't place the song, but it was very catchy. She fluttered the tips of her magic wings to the beat of the song.

At least the trip would be faster this time.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

Satori knows how to use the rules to her advantage. I have to admit, she's one of my favorite characters. She's a real pleasure to write. She really does want friends, even if she is a sarcastic little brat who gets pleasure from making liars squirm and cry, and I want to get to show both sides of her. Granted, I won't get to show off her more unpleasant side for some time, but it'll happen eventually.


	9. 3, Part 4

Chapter 9: 3, Part 4

* * *

"Ow," Satori said, as they drifted out of the underground. She shielded her eyes with her arm.

 _Are you okay?_ Renko glanced at Satori worriedly.

"I haven't seen sunlight in sixty years. I forgot how bright it was," Satori said. She squinted and shielded her third eye with her other hand. "Lead the way. I can follow your thoughts while my eyes adjust."

Renko nodded, and continued flying. Satori trailed behind her. The sun was almost setting, and Renko felt a twinge of guilt. Alice and Mima were probably worried about her. She just hoped they'd be waiting at Eientei.

Satori's eyes adjusted before too long, and she flew alongside Renko afterwards. However, after a short time, Satori glanced back over her shoulder.

"It seems we've drawn Hakurei's attention," Satori said.

The next moment, a red-and-white blur shot past, and Reimu turned to face them several meters ahead, two red-and-white spheres patterned like yin-yang symbols orbiting her. Renko stopped short, hovering in place, and Satori floated beside her.

"You've only been in Gensokyo three weeks, and you've somehow gotten wings and dragged Komeiji out of the underground? Gods damnit, Usami, Ran said you weren't going to be trouble. You better have a good explanation for this," Reimu said, arms crossed. Satori had gone silent.

"These, um, they're… they're an enchantment Lady Mima put on me temporarily because I'm really slow and I needed to fetch Komeiji quickly," Renko said, fluttering the wings once when she referred to them. She mentally cringed at how nervous she sounded.

Reimu groaned.

"Mima's in on this? What the hell could she possibly want with Komeiji? Ugh, this is a mess. Give me one good reason I shouldn't knock some sense into you right now."

Renko flinched, and glanced timidly at Satori.

 _Komeiji, w-what do I do? She seems mad, and really scary…_

Satori smiled reassuringly and gestured for her to go on.

"W-well, Marisa got really badly hurt… um… Lady Mima was really upset. An—" Renko started.

"Wait, what? Marisa? What happened, is she alright?" All of Reimu's irritation had evaporated, and she floated a bit closer, concern clear on her face. Renko relaxed now that Reimu didn't seem liable to snap and attack her.

"No, she isn't, that's why I have Komeiji," Renko said. "She got hit in the head on accident while she was playing tag with Flandre Scarlet. It looked really bad, and even after Mrs. Yagokoro took care of the actual injury, she's all messed up and not talking or understanding things and she didn't look like she recognized anyone… apparently, Komeiji can help…"

Reimu floated there in stunned silence for several seconds.

"…I told Marisa a million times that she'd get herself hurt if she kept playing with that crazy vampire kid," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe she'll finally believe me. Ugh… Get going, you two. Komeiji, you had better go back underground as soon as you're done. I don't want an incident on my hands over this."

Reimu made a gesture of floating aside and leaving the path clear. Renko bowed, and then took off towards Eientei, Satori keeping pace at her side.

 _Why didn't you say anything?_ Renko wondered as they flew.

"Hakurei dislikes me rather strongly. I didn't want to provoke her," Satori said with a shrug.

Renko raised an eyebrow. _Why?_

"Most people don't take my mind-reading ability as nonchalantly as you do. In fact, I typically don't even get along with other youkai. Come to think of it…" Satori glanced at Renko. "Why is it you don't find it particularly strange or uncomfortable?"

Renko took a few moments to organize her thoughts.

 _Uh… well, I come from the outside world. All of Gensokyo is strange in comparison. I've run into an honest-to-goodness witch who flies around on a broom, a ghost of an archmage, a bird that sells grilled fish, a teleporting maid, and I just found out the girl I've been staying with was a youkai the whole time, even though she's probably the most normal person I've met here. Psychic youkai on top of that? Sure, why not?_

Satori giggled softly.

"I suppose that's entirely fair. I appreciate that you're so accepting, honestly. You and Kirisame. It gets dull terrorizing every single human I meet once they realize what I am and inevitably decide they hate me. And lonely," she said.

Renko resisted the sudden urge to comfortingly pat Satori on the shoulder. Satori glanced at her, but didn't address the thought, and they flew on in relative quiet.

* * *

"I don't see this 'Eientei' place," Satori commented as they flew over the bamboo forest. Renko was watching the sky, carefully pinpointing their location.

 _Give it a moment…_

Renko looked back down, and smiled. It had in fact become visible just at that moment.

"Hm. You were right." Satori followed Renko to the ground, and Renko walked up to the door and knocked.

Several seconds later, a girl in a white and pink outfit with a blue suit jacket opened the door. Renko quickly noted her lavender hair and the slightly crooked rabbit ears on top of her head.

"Hello, what are you here for?" she asked.

"Hello. Um—" Renko started.

"Usami!" Mima flew through the rabbit girl and hovered around Renko, looking her over. "Oh, good, you're alright. I was worried. You've been gone a while. You'll have to tell me what happened later."

"Nice mental wards," Satori said dryly.

"Thank you. I made them myself," Mima said.

"Oh, this is your apprentice and the satori she was bringing. Come in," the rabbit girl said. She moved out of the doorway, and Mima practically dragged Renko inside. Satori followed them down the halls.

"So, you're Marisa's friend?" Mima asked as they went, floating backwards to look at Satori.

"I am. Satori Komeiji, pleasure to meet you," Satori said.

"Interesting first name. I'm Mima, Gensokyo's premier archmage, and likewise."

"Please don't make fun of my name," Satori said, glancing at her feet.

"Ah, it must be a sensitive subject. I won't pry. Thank you for coming all this way to help Marisa, by the way," Mima said. "Did you really decide to break the treaty for your friend?"

"Actually, your apprentice beat me in a danmaku duel and kidnapped me," Satori said.

Mima raised an eyebrow.

"I used Ice Sign 'Icicle Fall'," Satori clarified.

Mima burst into badly-suppressed giggles. "I see. What an interesting youkai. At any rate, here we are." She stopped in front of the door to the room where Marisa was, and Mima tapped the door lightly. Eirin opened it, and they walked in. Marisa was still laying in the bed, and she glanced between everyone, but still had a constant dazed expression. Alice had fallen asleep on a chair in the corner.

"I'm surprised you turned up, but I'm glad. Don't touch her head, she has several fractures in her skull," Eirin said to Satori. Satori nodded.

"I won't." She stared at Marisa in silence for several seconds. "…You want me to bring her mind back. It's going to take some time, and I'd prefer to be alone with her, but I believe I can do it."

"You heard her. Everyone out," Eirin said. Renko walked over and gently shook Alice awake. Alice groggily stumbled out of the room, and soon, it was just Satori and Marisa. Eirin closed the door behind her.

"I suppose now we wait. Ah, Usami, I should take that enchantment off of you. Have you noticed any side effects?" Mima said.

"Um, it feels like it got stronger, but I feel fine," Renko said. Mima inspected the magical wings carefully.

"Hm. They seem fine to me. Here," she said, and flicked her wrist to dispel the enchantment. The wings flickered and vanished. Renko frowned, feeling a bit awkward without them. It was almost like something was missing that should have stayed.

"It sorta feels weird without them now," she said.

"That's a sign you probably shouldn't have them any longer. I know sometimes, enchantments that are meant to be short-term can become assimilated into a person's aura and impossible to remove if they're left on too long, and I don't think you want permanent space wings," Mima said.

"…Yeah, I guess. So, um…" Renko started.

About then, Kaguya rounded the corner with a cheerful smile. "Oh, huh, you all are still here? Hm. Anyone want to play a game?"

"What kind of game?" Renko said.

"It's an outside world video game called Mario Kart Double Dash," Kaguya said.

Renko's eyes lit up. That was one of her favorite retro games.

"Um, I call dibs on Paratroopa and Baby Luigi!"

* * *

"No no no left!" Mima called, leaning over Renko's shoulder and giggling.

"You're breaking my concentratiooon!" Renko elbowed the akuryou and focused her efforts on the race. Kaguya, with her team of Bowser and King Boo, was a formidable opponent.

Another day, she might have stopped to consider the absurdity of playing Mario Kart with the exiled moon princess Kaguya, but she was too busy trying to win. After Kaguya had broken out the rice wine, she had convinced Renko that they should play strip Mario Kart. Renko wasn't sure why she agreed, but it probably had a lot to do with the rice wine.

She was twenty, she could make good decisions. Probably.

Renko did her best to maneuver her kart around Rainbow Road, ignoring the fact that her button-down shirt and skirt were in a pile beside her on Kaguya's bed, she was reduced to a white sports bra and her underwear, and Kaguya was even less clothed, with nothing covering her upper half.

Right about then, Renko accidentally steered off the edge of the track.

"Aaaah! Nooo!" she cried. Her kart was dropped back onto the track seconds later.

"Whoops…" A quick glance at Kaguya's screen confirmed that Kaguya had also driven off the edge.

Playing Mario Kart was actually really difficult while under the influence of alcohol. Go figure.

It was another full five minutes that included countless falling off the racetrack before finally, a cart crossed the finish line of Rainbow Road.

"Wooo!" Renko practically catapulted her controller into the air as she cheered. Mima caught it, still giggling incessantly.

"Noooo, I lost again…" Kaguya whined, flopping face-down onto the bed. Renko awkwardly patted her shoulder, never quite managing to pat the same way twice in a row.

The door suddenly opened, and Eirin stared for several seconds before burying her face in the palm of one hand and letting out a sigh.

"Kaguya. For the love of Tsukuyomi, how many times have I told you not to get your guests drunk and play strip video games?" she said.

Kaguya started trying to count on her fingers, but quickly gave up.

"…All of them?" she tried.

"And Akagane, you are an adult, why would you allow this?" Eirin stared accusingly at Mima.

"Are you kidding? This is solid comedic gold. I haven't laughed this much in decades. Mweehee." Mima grinned remorselessly.

Eirin rubbed her temples.

"Both of you, put your clothes back on. These shenanigans are over."

* * *

Renko stared into her tea, refusing to make eye contact with Kaguya across the table. Eirin had forced her to drink a medicine that had cleared up her intoxication very, very quickly, and now she was in a comfortable sitting room.

"…Someone please remind me never to drink and play video games with Kaguya ever again," Renko said.

"Got it," Alice said, sipping her tea elegantly. Shanghai mimicked the gesture with an empty, doll-sized teacup beside her.

"I thought it was great, except for the part where I lost," Kaguya said, still cheery. "Though, okay, no drinking next time."

Renko nodded in agreement and took a sip of tea, eyes closed. Unlike Alice's tea, which was unflavored but lightly sweetened, this tea was subtly flavored with fruit, but served straight. It was different, but she liked both in their own ways.

"It's been a few hours. I wonder how long Komeiji is going to take…" Alice said.

"I'd rather she take a long time and make sure Marisa is alright, rather than rush it and not have her recover fully," Mima said. Alice nodded in agreement, and sighed.

"I just can't help but worry. Marisa's one of my closest friends, we've known each other for years."

"Komeiji also considers Marisa a really good friend. She said so when I talked to her earlier," Renko said. "I'm sure she's doing her best to help."

"I suppose." Alice frowned at her tea, but quickly looked up when the door to the room suddenly slid open.

Satori walked in. Everyone's eyes followed her as she walked up to the table without a word, sat down between Renko and Alice, and poured herself a cup of tea. She quietly drank from it, and only set the cup down when it was empty.

"Ahh… my throat hurts," Satori said in a slightly hoarse whisper. "I'm finished, though. Marisa is asleep, which she needs to finish my work. She'll wake up in about an hour and a half."

Alice relaxed immediately, and Shanghai mock-cheered. Almost without realizing it, Renko grabbed Satori in a hug.

"You're the best, Komeiji!" Renko said with a smile. Satori blinked in surprise, and tried a smile. It came across a bit unevenly. Renko quickly let go, and refilled Satori's tea for her. Satori sipped at it more slowly this time.

"I'm assuming that you needed to speak in order to do it?" Mima asked. Satori nodded. "I see. I don't think anyone here will blame you for resting your voice."

"I will—okay yes I'm kidding, stop looking at me like that!" Kaguya stuck her tongue out at Satori, who was glaring. Satori mock-sighed and returned her attention to her tea.

As everyone settled back into a more comfortable conversation, and Renko and Satori quietly drank their tea, Renko felt a sudden faint presence in her mind. It was insistent, but not forceful, and almost felt like it was asking permission to enter.

Renko glanced around. Mima was casually talking about something with Alice, while Kaguya had pulled out a Game Boy Advance and was playing Pokemon under the table.

She made eye contact with Satori, who smiled a bit shyly. In retrospect, it was obvious that it was Satori. She mentally poked at the presence, and her aura flared the slightest bit, creating an invisible connection.

 _Thank you. Hello, Usami,_ Satori's mental voice said. Unlike when she spoke aloud, her thoughts resonated with a calm cheer.

 _Hello, Komeiji. Is this what it's like, reading people's thoughts…?_ Renko couldn't help but find the sensation of Satori speaking into her mind a bit strange.

 _Not really. You're only receiving what I want you to, and I can perceive much more of what you're sensing. Plus, it'll break as soon as I go back underground._ Satori half-shrugged. _Also, you may call me Satori if you wish._

Renko brightened up a bit. _Oh, I didn't expect that, but you can use my first name too. Thank you, Satori._

Satori smiled and sipped her tea, and while she didn't use words, Renko could sense her cheerfulness through the mental link she'd made.

 _So, Marisa's going to be okay? What exactly did you do?_ Renko asked.

 _Ah, well, her mind was essentially a blank slate, though luckily most of her implicit memory of motor skills and magic was still intact. I basically hypnotized her own personality, memories, opinions, feelings, relationships, and habits back into her, and made sure she could still experience personal growth despite that. She probably won't actually remember experiencing her past, she'll just know what she's been through, but it's the best approximation we'll get._

Renko shivered a bit at the idea that Satori could completely write in an entire person's being through hypnosis.

 _Anyone else would have been able to resist something that invasive. It just shows you how damaged she was, that she couldn't do anything about it,_ Satori hastily said.

 _That makes it less creepy, but still. Remind me to never get on your bad side,_ Renko thought.

 _It would take a lot of effort for you to get on my bad side, Renko._ Satori smiled when Renko looked up at her, and Renko glanced away shyly, trying not to blush a little. She failed when she realized Satori was aware she was trying not to blush.

"I feel left out," Mima remarked, and Satori slowly turned scarlet.

 _She knows,_ was all Satori thought to Renko.

 _She definitely knows,_ Renko agreed.

* * *

The time had gone fairly quickly, and Renko found herself standing by the foot of Marisa's bed. Mima had claimed one of the spots directly to her side, while Eirin was across from her, ready to intervene if it seemed Marisa was going to harm herself accidentally. Alice and Satori had claimed the next-closest spots, and Renko hadn't felt like it was worth fighting over a closer spot.

Just as Satori had said she would, Marisa slowly stirred. She shifted slightly, and opened her eyes. She glanced between everyone, slowly taking on a confused frown and biting her lower lip in discomfort.

"…Someone wanna explain what I'm doing in Eientei, with all you guys standing over me, ze? And also, why my head hurts worse than when I've pulled an all-nighter at the shrine drinking with Reimu and Suika?" Marisa asked.

"Severe head injury. Don't touch it," Eirin said.

Marisa started to nod, winced, lifted her hand to her head, and pulled it back before actually making contact.

"Ugh. Mmkay." Marisa dropped her arm back on the bed.

"You were playing with Flandre. From what I heard, you flew past her very quickly, she turned, and her wing hit you in the head," Mima explained. She put one hand comfortingly on Marisa's shoulder, and Marisa smiled a bit shakily.

"I told you you were going to get yourself hurt if you kept playing with her," Alice muttered. Marisa stuck her tongue out at the puppeteer.

"You thought she was gonna hurt me on purpose, ze," she said. Her gaze flickered to Satori, and she blinked twice. "…Satori? What are you doin' here? I thought you weren't allowed up here…"

"I'm not," Satori said. Her voice was still a bit hoarse, but she managed. "It's a bit of a story, and my throat hurts right now."

"Ah. I'll ask you some other time, then." Marisa chuckled quietly. "Nice to see ya, though. Always is, ze. Mmh. I should stop talking, it makes my head hurt more."

"Yes, you should. Alright, visiting time is over. Except you, Akagane, you can stay as long as you don't get in my way. Everyone else, out, I have some tests to run now that Kirisame is conscious," Eirin said. She quickly shooed everyone but Mima out of the room.

 _I'm so glad she's okay,_ Satori thought to Renko. _Her mind, minus some details in the memories, is exactly like it should be. It's a huge relief._

 _It's so much better seeing her actually recognize people and react to things._ Renko smiled. Marisa really was going to be okay. She still couldn't help but be a bit nervous about how easily someone as powerful as Marisa had been so badly damaged, though. If Marisa could get hurt like that, what about her…?

* * *

"Whaddaya mean I can't go flying for three weeks?!" Marisa whined, staring up at Eirin with a look of utter betrayal. After a time of rigorous examination, Renko and the others had been allowed back into Marisa's room.

"Kirisame, your skull is still fractured. A relatively light bump on the head that Usami would barely feel could legitimately kill you. You're not getting out of bed unsupervised for at least a few days," Eirin said, arms crossed.

"This sucks, ze." Marisa pouted and stared at the ceiling.

"It's okay, Marisa, we'll be sure to visit so you don't get too lonely," Alice said, and lightly reached for Marisa's hand. Marisa smiled, and lightly squeezed Alice's hand. Satori coughed into her sleeve and shuffled back beside Renko.

"I doubt I'll get the chance, but I'll be hoping you recover quickly," Satori said.

Marisa sighed.

"Well, I guess that helps, ze. Man, if I didn't have awesome friends like you guys, this would be the worst," she said. "As it is, it's… about the third worst thing that ever happened to me."

"What are numbers one and two?" Alice asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, the second worst thing was when I accidentally snapped one of Yuuka's sunflowers," Marisa said.

Alice, Mima, and Satori simultaneously winced. Renko glanced questioningly at Satori, and got the quick message _I'll tell you later_.

"…And there's _worse?_ " Alice said.

"I lost my virginity to an oni, ze. It sounded like a good idea at the time. It really wasn't," Marisa said.

"Gods damnit, Marisa," Mima said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Marisa chuckled. Alice turned an interesting shade of pink, while Satori's expression failed to change. Renko glanced at Satori, realizing that at some point, Satori had to have found out about this, and then deliberately put that memory back into Marisa's head. It was no wonder she didn't react. Renko made the conscious decision not to think too hard about what Marisa had said.

 _Probably a good choice_ , Satori thought to her, before speaking aloud. "Well… now that Marisa is alright, I should probably go home. My pets will be worried sick."

"Ah, yes. Margatroid, Usami, why don't we escort Komeiji back to the entrance to the underground?" Mima said.

"That would only be polite," Alice said. Renko nodded in agreement.

"Aww. I wish you could stick around, ze… Hey, Satori, c'mere before you go," Marisa said. Satori tilted her head, blinking a few times, but walked over. Marisa reached up as well as she could and ruffled Satori's hair with one hand. Satori giggled quietly, and one of the long tendrils attached to her third eye shifted to poke Marisa on the nose with the heart-shaped tip.

Renko couldn't help but be slightly unnerved by the fact the tendrils could move.

"Eheh. I'll be sure to come visit once I'm all better. Seeya 'round, Satori," Marisa said.

"See you, Marisa," Satori said. With that, Mima led Alice, Renko, and Satori back out through the halls.

"I wasn't aware you could move those," Mima commented, glancing at Satori.

"They're much less delicate than they look," Satori said with a half-shrug. Alice shifted uncomfortably. "…no, I won't touch you with one. That would be quite rude." Alice relaxed.

"You know, Komeiji," Alice said as they stepped outside, "For being possibly the most feared youkai species in existence, you're… actually quite pleasant. If you're like this all the time, I can see why Marisa would like you."

"Um, she normally talks a whole lot more, and doesn't let you talk, because it's like listening to us repeat everything over again, but other than that, yeah, she's really nice," Renko said. "I actually… fell asleep on her doorstep, and she took me inside and put me in a comfortable room and let me help fix food when I woke up."

"That explains why you took as long as you did. And why you weren't exhausted or hungry when you returned," Mima said.

"I see…" Alice glanced at Satori. Satori smiled pleasantly, and while she didn't send any words to Renko, Renko could pick up a faint general sense of happiness.

"Well, I suppose if I ever get the chance to meet you again, I can give you a fair chance. You're an underground youkai, so I doubt I will, but…" Alice trailed off, and Satori nodded. Mima led the way into the sky, and Renko was nearly left behind before Satori slowed to match her pace.

 _You weren't kidding about needing that enchantment to fly at a reasonable speed_ , Satori commented as they flew.

 _Hey, I only learned to fly about three weeks ago. Before that, I'd never used_ any _magic,_ Renko 'said' mentally.

 _Oh. In that case, your flight and danmaku are both impressive for your level of experience. If you come to visit again, I have some pets that are around your level of strength. You could spar with them to try and increase your effectiveness,_ Satori said.

 _I'll ask Lady Mima about going, thanks._ Renko smiled, glad that Satori was so friendly. She was starting to really like youkai—none of them actually seemed malicious so far, and the only ones that had caused any harm had done so accidentally. She almost felt bad for being so afraid of Ran when they had met.

She'd have to be nicer next time.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

Are we done with Section 3?

MAYBE

MAYBE NOT

IT IS A MYSTERY


	10. 3, Part 5

Chapter 10: 3, Part 5

* * *

"Gensokyo is really pretty at night," Renko said as she trailed after Mima. A creek glittered with starlight as they crossed over the valley it twisted through.

"It is. I love the stars," Mima said. Alice and Satori nodded in agreement.

 _It's beautiful. More than I remembered. It's a bit of a shame I probably won't be able to see it again for a very long time._ Satori telepathically sighed. _I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can for now._

Renko purposely stayed quiet so Satori could pay attention to the night sky and moonlit treetops, and focused on the calming sensation of the air parting around her as she flew. Somewhere in the night, an owl's soft call rang out.

Quite suddenly, though, there was a rush of air, and a dark silhouette plummeted from above, colliding with Satori and knocking her down several feet in the air. Satori cried out in pain and alarm. Renko acted on reflex, and fired a danmaku bullet at the shape. It twisted to avoid it, only to take a spray of blue bullets from Alice and a laser from Mima. Satori tore herself free and darted away, arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Satori! A-are you okay?!" Renko called. Rather than words, she simply received a sensation of sharp pain and urgency.

"I, I offer a spellcard duel," Satori hastily said.

"I refuse! Die, you treaty-breaking bitch!" the shadowy shape snarled. It shifted into a monstrous, ill-defined beast with what looked like a mass of tentacles extending from its back. Inky jaws snapped shut on the air where Satori had been an instant ago.

Mima snapped her fingers. Six orbs in different colors, marked with alchemical symbols, materialized around her. Each one immediately started to fire a nearly blinding amount of brilliant star danmaku bullets in matching colors, with slightly different patterns, but all focused towards the monster. It was zipping after Satori so quickly that most of the bullets grazed past it.

"Don't worry, Usami, it'll dissipate instead of harming you if you're hit by my bullets. I would be no archmage if I couldn't avoid friendly fire," Mima said. Renko nodded, but floated back a bit anyways. There didn't seem to be much she could do to help. She couldn't shake the image of Marisa so badly injured by a friendly youkai, and this creature was most certainly not friendly.

The monster fired a spray of danmaku after Satori, but she expertly weaved around the attack. Alice's doll dove into its path, and before it could stop, the doll slashed at it with a gleaming razor blade. It tumbled aside to avoid the attack, only for Satori to whirl around.

"Light of Truth!" she declared, and fired a focused barrage of gold-white bullets that peppered the creature. The youkai screeched in pain and the shadows melted away under each strike—first, it appeared as a monstrous monkey-faced tiger, then a humanoid wolf-beast, then a youkai girl in a short black dress with strange mismatched red-and-blue wings, and finally a simple brown and white bird youkai girl.

The bird youkai glared defiantly at Satori even as she weakly fluttered her wings, burns from the light marring her face and body.

"…I'm not going to kill you, Houjuu. You tempt me, but I'd rather leave well enough alone. As should you," Satori said.

"Gods-damn three-eyed bitch," the bird said, and she turned to try and flee. She ran straight into a sealing amulet, and froze in place, twitching slightly.

Reimu flew over, hair sloppily tied in its usual ponytail and arms crossed, orbited not only by her yin-yang orbs but by several sealing amulets.

"You said you weren't going to cause an incident, damnit!" Reimu said. "Ugh. This is going to be an enormous mess, I hope you know that. If anybody shoots one danmaku bullet I swear to gods…"

Mima hastily dispelled her orbs, and Alice and Shanghai both held their hands up innocently. Renko glanced at Satori, concerned.

 _Houjuu stabbed me in the stomach. It hurts, but thankfully, she didn't get my third eye. I'll be okay in a few hours,_ Satori thought to Renko. Her mental voice was shaky, and Renko could almost feel the pain through the message.

Reimu grabbed the bird youkai by the collar.

"Alright, everyone follow me. Don't try and run off, I will bludgeon you with these things until you stop," Reimu said, gesturing threateningly at the yin-yang orbs with her free hand.

"It's generally a bad idea not to listen to Hakurei on occasions like this. I suggest compliance," Mima said. Alice nodded in confirmation.

"O-Okay…" Renko said.

She couldn't help but wonder exactly what sort of mess they'd gotten themselves into.

* * *

"This is probably the closest thing Gensokyo can have to an international incident without having the moon or Makai involved," Alice commented.

"I know," Satori said. She gingerly poked at her stomach, and winced. Her blouse and skirt were streaked with dried blood from her stomach down.

"And you and that nue are both going to be on trial for breaking the treaty between Youkai Mountain and the Ancient City," Alice continued.

"I _know_ ," Satori said, looking up from where she was lying on her back on the floor. Alice was seated on a wooden chair, while Renko was curled up on the floor, trying and failing to take a nap, and Mima was lying on the ceiling for no real reason other than that she could.

The room wasn't too uncomfortable, aside from the fact it was guarded by several armed tengu, and the youkai who had tried to murder Satori was in the next room over.

Renko hadn't even known there was such a tall mountain in Gensokyo until Reimu led them to it and handed them off to several tengu. Apparently Reimu was going to be there at the trial, as well, and she was not happy.

"All I'm saying is, I'm really glad I'm not you right now," Alice said.

"Thanks," Satori said dryly. She coughed once. "My throat still hurts. Apparently this makes me more tolerable, at least."

Renko sighed, and sat up. She figured she had gotten as much rest as she was going to.

 _Are you sure you're okay, Satori? I mean, you were stabbed in the stomach, and nobody's looked at it…_ she thought.

 _Yes, I'm fine. It's actually pretty hard to seriously harm a youkai. Many will have a specific weakness, but even then, my weakest point—my third eye—will recover from injuries much faster and more thoroughly than anything a human takes._ Satori sent a wave of reassurance through the mental link.

 _Well, that's good._ Renko couldn't help but feel faintly jealous. She quickly shook that off and reached into her bag, and pulled out one of her two notebooks and a pencil. This was not the Sealing Club journal. This was her sketchbook. She turned to a blank page, and idly started drawing to pass the time. After all, Satori was just lying there in a position where Renko could easily reference what her facial features looked like.

Satori's third eye shifted to face Renko more directly as she lightly penciled in the shape of Satori's face and started to frame it with soft curves to represent the youkai's wavy hair. This drew Alice's attention, and seconds later, Shanghai was on Renko's shoulder, peering down at her work. Renko ignored the doll's weight and moved on to the shoulders.

"I didn't realize you could draw so well," Alice said.

"Well, um, I was mostly a physics student, but I took art classes too," Renko said. She lightly scribbled in basic placeholder shapes, working out a position for the arms in her drawing. "I stopped when I met Merry, but I would still do sketches for our journal. People are hard, but practicing is important…"

"Any reason you decided to draw me?" Satori asked. Renko glanced up, slightly surprised she had asked aloud.

"Well, um, you were right there," she said. Satori nodded, and watched in silence. After several minutes, Renko finally had a presentable sketch of Satori with a smile on her face, and her hands held in a cute heart shape around her third eye.

"Okay, I think I'm done," Renko said.

"Wow, Komeiji, if you did that you might actually be cute," Alice said.

Satori sat up, and proceeded to mimic the drawing as well as she could. The smile was forced and didn't reach her eyes at all.

"…Nevermind," Alice said.

Mima giggled, and floated down to inspect Renko's work.

"How cute. I want one as a pet," she said.

"I think I make a better owner than pet," Satori said. "After all, I have my own flock of hell ravens."

"How impressive," Mima started. Before the banter could go on, the door opened. A white-haired, wolf-eared tengu surveyed the room with her gaze.

"Follow me," she said in a stern, even voice.

Satori stood a bit shakily. Renko scrambled to her feet, closing her notebook, and offered Satori a hand for balance. She took it, and they followed the tengu out. Mima drifted after them, and Alice walked along as well.

The tengu led them outside. Now that it was day, Renko could see the village, built in and around the peaks and dips of the mountainside. All sorts of youkai, mostly crow and wolf tengu, were seated around the flat center of the area, on roofs, balconies, and rocks. This open square was occupied by an imposing male tengu with silver hair and large crow wings, the feathers slightly faded and edged in silver, holding a staff with feathers hanging from the tip and seated on a woven, bright red mat. Beside this tengu, Reimu was seated, yin-yang orbs lazily orbiting her, and across from them were three smaller mats. On one to the side, the youkai who had attacked Satori was sitting, arms crossed, glaring viciously at the other youkai. Her appearance had become the final illusion Satori had torn away in the fight—a black-haired youkai in a black dress with asymmetrical red and blue wings.

As they walked, all eyes followed them. When they got close, Satori let go of Renko's hand, and the wolf tengu gestured for Renko and the others to stop. Satori gracefully took her place on the opposite side.

There was silence. Renko shuffled back slightly to stand beside Mima and Alice.

Just as the silence started to become unbearable, the tengu leader calmly looked up, inspecting the youkai seated before him.

"This trial is now formally in session, under witness of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and myself, Lord Tenma. Both of you, state your name and affiliation," he said. His voice was calm and even, and he didn't break composure for an instant.

"Nue Houjuu. I live on the surface, but I answer to nobody," the youkai sitting across from Satori said.

"Satori Komeiji. I manage the Palace of Earth Spirits just outside of the Ancient City," Satori said.

Tenma nodded, taking this in.

"Komeiji. You are aware that simply being here will weaken whatever case you make," he said.

Satori nodded.

"Houjuu, please give an account of what happened," Tenma said, looking to Nue.

Nue straightened herself up.

"I was flying around in the sky south of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, when I saw this three-eyed bitch—"

"Please refrain from using highly subjective and derogatory titles, Houjuu," Tenma interrupted.

Nue rolled her eyes.

"—when I saw Komeiji, a human, a magician, and an akuryou flying in a group. I know that all the living satori were banished underground, so there was no way she could be up here without breaking the treaty. So I attacked her. Nothing stopping me, and all. Of course, the rest of them attacked me, and that damn satori nearly killed me. She let me get away, but Hakurei caught me," Nue said.

Several of the tengu onlookers started to whisper to each other.

"I see," Tenma said. He was quiet for several seconds, before looking to Satori.

"What do you have to say, Komeiji?"

Satori met the Tengu leader's gaze evenly. She started to speak, and winced before going on properly.

"Apologies, I have a bit of a sore throat. I'll make this short. I was at home in the Palace of Earth Spirits, when a human turned up on my doorstep. After some time, she challenged me to a spell card duel, the terms of which were that if I lost, I would not be allowed to put up a fight if she chose to kidnap me. I lost this duel, and was taken to the surface. In fact, when Houjuu attacked me, the reason for my kidnapping had been resolved and I was being escorted home," Satori said.

Nue glared daggers at Satori, wings bristling.

"Prove it, you little—" Nue hissed.

"Houjuu, refrain from breaking form, please. That said, I do find it strange that a human would kidnap a satori and then return them home. If there is truth, let it come forth," Tenma said.

 _Renko. That's an open invitation for witnesses. Just walk up and sit down,_ Satori's mental voice said. Renko shuffled nervously in place. There were a lot of youkai watching, and this would put her right next to Nue.

It was important, though.

Renko took a deep breath to steel herself, and walked up. The crowds of tengu watched her, whispering among themselves, and Renko was almost certain she saw a camera flash go off. She sat between Satori and Nue, legs folded under her, and tried to ignore the almost tangible hostility Nue was radiating.

"Someone has come forth, it seems. Please state your name and affiliation," Tenma said. Renko looked up timidly. The tengu leader's posture was perfect, but his gaze was warmer than Renko would have assumed. She tried to pretend she was just talking to him, instead of the entire crowd.

"Renko Usami. Um. S-student of Lady Mima," Renko said.

Tenma raised an eyebrow.

"You are a human, and yet you associate yourself with a power other than the Human Village? Intriguing. Tell us your side, Usami," he said.

 _Renko, this is important. Whatever you do, don't lie. You can bend the truth to make us seem more sympathetic, but I'm a youkai that embodies truth. If you outright lie, I'll reflexively call you out on it and that would be bad for both of us,_ Satori quickly said.

 _I wasn't planning to,_ Renko thought. She took another deep breath. The crowd was getting to her a little.

"A friend of mine was injured, and I was told a satori could help her recover. So, I ventured underground, and found, um, Komeiji. I did challenge her to a duel on the terms she mentioned, and I won, so then I brought her here… and, she helped my friend. We were taking her back to the underground when, um, Houjuu attacked her," Renko said.

"Ob-fucking-jection!" Nue said, raising her hand.

"That isn't the proper procedure, Houjuu," Tenma said.

Nue rolled her eyes again.

"Fine, just objection, minus the obscenity. Do you seriously expect me to believe this weenie singularity could take a satori in a fair duel? I've eaten stronger kids for breakfast," Nue said, gesturing at Renko.

Renko's stomach turned a bit at the mental image that conjured up.

Before anyone else could speak, though, Mima silently glided forwards, took a place just behind Renko, and placed her hand on Renko's shoulder. Shadows flickered around her in a warning display of magic.

"You are in the presence of the archmage Mima Akagane, Usami's teacher. My previous students include Marisa Kirisame and Yuuka Kazami. Do you doubt that my apprentice could be far more dangerous than appearances would lead you to believe?" Mima said.

Renko idly noticed the obvious logical fallacy in Mima's words, but also noted that at the same time, Mima never actually said that she was strong. She only implied it.

She also noted that about half of the gathered beings, including Reimu, flinched at the mention of Yuuka Kazami's name.

"I see no reason not to believe Akagane—" Tenma started.

"Mima, if you would," Mima said.

"I see no reason not to believe Mima and her student. Hakurei?"

Reimu looked up from where she was inspecting a bit of dirt on her sleeve.

"I thought Komeiji was pretty easy to beat when I fought her, and Mima is good at magic, even if she is completely insufferable. I guess her troublesome student could manage it," she said. She sounded bored.

"So then. If Komeiji was kidnapped, the question becomes whether or not the treaty was truly broken," Tenma said.

"She's still up here! I say it was," Nue said.

"For what it's worth, if a surface youkai were brought to the Ancient City by force, I do not think they would be treated as a criminal. I personally would welcome them as a guest, if they would be willing to accept hospitality from me," Satori said.

"Um, can I say something?" Renko said, a bit nervous. She wasn't sure if she was breaking whatever traditions stood here.

"Certainly, Usami," Tenma said.

"Well, um, I don't want anything bad to happen to Satori because I kidnapped her. It really isn't her fault she's here. I mean, she was perfect for what I needed her for… so please don't blame her, except for being really good at being a satori?" Renko trailed off into hesitancy, and glanced at Satori. Satori flashed a faint but warm smile.

Tenma chuckled so quietly Renko wasn't entirely sure he had.

"I think that's fair. Indeed, Komeiji was not the one who broke the treaty. If anyone did, it was Houjuu, by attacking a resident of the underground who was not in violation of the treaty, and Usami, for kidnapping Komeiji," he said.

Renko fidgeted nervously. Satori had told her she was safe, but she didn't feel safe, surrounded by all these youkai.

"And of course, Usami is out of the treaty's jurisdiction," Tenma said. He paused, before going on. "…Though if there is another incident like this, it may be prudent to look into changing that."

Renko relaxed, but not for long, as Nue growled.

"Hey! What's the big idea, blaming me?!" Nue protested.

"Houjuu. You were in fact out of line with the treaty. Perhaps the other youkai that weren't attacking Komeiji should have given you a clue that the situation was more complex than it appeared? You should apologize for trying to harm Komeiji," Tenma said.

Nue leaned around Renko and flipped off Satori.

"Over my dead body," Nue said.

Tenma let out a long, slow sigh. Renko caught the sounds of giggling from a group of tengu.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to pretend in order to make things easier on all of us, Houjuu?" he asked.

"It wouldn't work," Satori said helpfully. "I hate lies."

"…Right, yes, of course. If Houjuu won't apologize, you are still owed something. Do you have a reasonable request?" Tenma looked at Satori.

Satori smiled.

"Can I request that I be allowed to visit the surface without violating the treaty, once each season for the major festivals? I promise I'll only be a little bit insufferable," she said.

Tenma chuckled, and glanced around at the gathered tengu.

"To be honest, times have changed since this treaty was made. We should perhaps look into better communication with the Ancient City, and allowing travel for festivals both ways. I'm sure the journalists are dying to get a chance at a visit. Your request is reasonable," he said.

Nue grumbled, not even bothering to hide her scorn. Satori, meanwhile, maintained her smile.

"Houjuu, you didn't know you were breaking the treaty, even though there were signs. You will be excused, but do not expect to get off lightly if you do so again," Tenma said. Nue rolled her eyes so hard it was practically audible, but didn't complain aloud.

Tenma looked over at Reimu.

"Hakurei, do you have any comments?"

"Can I go home now?" Reimu asked.

Tenma chuckled again and shook his head.

"Well, I believe this matter is settled. I will arrange an escort for Komeiji to the underground, and for Usami, Mima, and their magician friend home, and—"

"I can take myself home, thanks," Nue said.

"Alright, then. This trial is concluded," Tenma said. The moment he spoke, Nue took off flying. Nobody bothered to chase after her.

Renko dearly hoped that would be the last she'd see of her.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

And that's the ACTUAL end of section 3. Intermission will... probably be up on Thursday, I may have to delay it to Monday due to summer classes starting this week.


	11. Intermission 2 - Nue Houjuu

Chapter 11: Intermission 2 - Nue Houjuu

* * *

The moon shone overhead, and the eerie sounds of the night echoed through Gensokyo's fields and forests. A shadowy shape flickered through the trees, finally resolving itself in the form of a youkai with asymmetrical red and blue wings.

Nue Houjuu sat on a log, letting out a slow sigh.

"What's got you down, Nue?" a familiar voice asked. Nue looked up as a woman with a fluffy, striped tail and a pair of glasses sat beside her.

"You know exactly what's got me down," Nue said, folding her arms. Mamizou clicked her tongue sympathetically and fished around in her dress pockets.

"Yeah, you had a run-in with one of the Komeijis and she got away. I thought you were done terrorizing whoever?" Mamizou pulled out a bottle of rice wine and a pair of dishes. Nue waited as the tanuki filled them both, and took a long sip from hers before speaking.

"Well, mostly." Nue glared a metaphorical hole through a rock sticking out of the middle of the clearing. "But you know my entire concept is lies and illusions. Her nature's truth. There's no room for coexistence, she's toxic just for me to be in line of sight of. A few people even saw my true form when I tried to kill her."

Mamizou patted Nue's shoulder and refilled her sake dish.

"Nue, I get how you feel. Tanuki are natural enemies of kitsune, and I've seen one running around. But you can't go running around picking on other youkai here because they're your natural enemies. We're all stuck in here, you know. I've heard the Komeijis are the last two satori left. And I know you're the only nue. We don't need any more kinds of youkai going extinct forever," Mamizou said. She pushed her glasses back up her nose, and took a gulp from her drink.

Nue grumbled and continued glaring through the rock. It would hurt her pride too much to admit it, but Mamizou was right. She knew attacking Satori had been stupid from the moment Satori told her she wasn't going to kill her. Throwing up layers of bitterness was the only way she could think of to protect whatever identity she still had that she could still hide from that damn mind-reader's eye.

And Satori had let her.

She almost resented her more for it. She could have died with her pride trying to kill her antithesis, but instead, Satori had let her go. Even implied they should just stay out of each other's way and go on living in this little fantasy prison.

There wasn't even anything to kill here, with the humans off-limits.

"Yeah, I know. Man… I just want to stab something right now," Nue said. She took another long sip of sake. "This is the next best thing, though. You always have the best drinks."

"Oni grade, dear," Mamizou said in a sing-song tone. Nue let herself chuckle. It was impossible to stay down around Mamizou, really.

A pale-haired girl in a black hat sat on the log to Nue's other side. Nue didn't consciously register her presence.

"Mm… Nue, dear, I found something neat, want to see?" Mamizou asked.

"Eh, sure, why not?" Nue stretched a bit, and failed to notice Koishi borrowing her sake dish a moment for a sip. Mamizou reached into her pockets, and retrieved a purple stone sphere. It glowed with eerie light.

"I wager it's got quite a bit of power in it. Perhaps we could play a prank on someone with it. I know you haven't gotten all the bloodlust out of your system, dear, but I think you could really get into pranks," Mamizou said.

"I have one of those too!" Koishi chirped. Nobody noticed.

Nue drummed her fingers along her trident.

"…Eh, could be fun. I trust you." Nue stretched her wings a bit. "I might just be old-fashioned, and you might just be too tame, but I'm not going to give up messing with people entirely."

"Good, good. Let's finish the bottle before we start planning. Drinking a bit before a prank is the best way to go," Mamizou said, smiling.

Nue grinned, and reached for her sake dish. She wasn't sure why she needed a refill already, but she was certainly going to take one.

"Sounds like a good time. Maybe I can even steal a trophy," she said.

"Don't be turning into Kirisame now, Nue dear," Mamizou teased with a smile. Nue and Koishi laughed, and the three youkai spent the night drinking and talking and plotting an elaborate prank on the Moriya Shrine.

By the time the sake bottle was empty, and Koishi had vanished just as unacknowledged as her arrival, Nue had almost forgotten why she had been so upset when she'd met up with Mamizou. Maybe living in the same world as the last two satori could still be just fine.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

I'm aware this one's a bit short, but I felt like Nue needed a chance to show that as dangerous as she is, and as angry as she is around Satori, no youkai is truly a hero or villain. They're just all trying to make their life how they will.


	12. 1 - Vernal Equinox

Chapter 12: 1 - Vernal Equinox

* * *

"Woo! Freedom at last!" Marisa cheered. Renko smiled at watching her roll in the snow out in front of Mima's house. The witch was bundled up in warm clothes, and was wearing a knitted hat with a magically-reinforced lining to act as a helmet. Eirin had insisted on it.

"Yes, freedom to walk. Or be carried by someone who flies at a more reasonable speed," Alice said. Marisa stuck her tongue out.

"Sure as hell feels like freedom after being cooped up in bed for days, ze. Sucks I can't run around, but I'll live." Marisa sat up, and scooped up some snow in her gloved hands.

"If you throw that snowball at me, I swear to Shinki," Alice said.

Marisa smirked, and threw it at Renko instead. Renko's dodging reflexes, honed in her recent training with Mima, kicked in, and she jetted sideways. The snowball grazed her scarf and hit the tree behind her.

"…Yay!" Renko cheered. Marisa pouted.

"Aww, Renko, can't you just let me have my fun?" she whined.

"But I don't like being hit by snowballs. And it's good for practicing my dodging, I've been working on that with Lady Mima," Renko said. She gently landed on her feet in the snow, and gathered up a small snowball. Instead of tossing it, she set it down and started to roll it up.

"Ooh, ooh, are we makin' a snowman? I wanna help!" Marisa said.

"Yeah! I'm making the base… You can make the middle," Renko said. Marisa cheered, and started to roll up a snowball. "Alice, do you want to make the head?"

Alice giggled. "Ah, sure, why not?"

Soon, Renko had rolled a snowball about as tall as her waist. Marisa rolled a slightly smaller one up to it, and Renko helped her lift it up onto the base.

"Hey, hey, I have an idea," Marisa said. She scooped up two handfuls of snow, and slapped them onto the front of the middle snowball in a crude approximation of breasts. Renko gave her an exasperated glance, and Marisa giggled.

Alice walked over with a large snowball in her arms, stared at Marisa's work, and sighed.

"Why am I not surprised at all?" she said.

"Because it's Marisa," Renko said.

"Fair enough." Alice placed the head on top of the snowman, and flicked her wrist. Her doll of the day, London, floated up with several pebbles and assembled a pleasant face on the top snowball.

"Alright, I finished my—ahahaha!" Mima floated out through the door of her house, and immediately burst into laughter at the sight of the snowman. Or snow woman, as it were.

"Okay, okay, who did that? This is brilliant," Mima said once she stopped laughing.

"Marisa," Alice and Renko said simultaneously. Marisa grinned and held both hands in a thumbs-up.

"Thought so, just checking. Anyways, I finished my preparations. I would apologize for making you wait on your lesson, Usami, but it seems you've been having fun with Marisa," Mima said. "We've been doing a lot of work on your fine control, so I think it's time you learn how to cast lasers."

"Oh, I was wondering when you'd teach me about lasers. This is going to be fun," Renko said, smiling.

"I wanna help, ze! I know I can't do too much right now, but I can show off some small lasers, right?" Marisa said.

Mima chuckled.

"Of course, Marisa. Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

Mima tossed a handful of cards into the winter air, and the breeze sent them tumbling. Renko focused her energy, and concentrated the same force that would go into a danmaku bullet or elemental spell into pinpoints. Five nearly-blinding lasers, each the thickness of a pen, flared into existence, searing holes through five of the cards. They tumbled to the ground, and Mima applauded.

"You're catching on very well, Usami! You really need to learn to make more bullets or lasers at once, but I'm aware that takes time and practice," Mima said.

"Thank you, Lady Mima!" Renko smiled. She knew that her greatest flaws in combat were her speed and the fact she could only manage small numbers of danmaku bullets, but she was getting better with each passing day. In between danmaku lessons, Renko had learned to brew simple potions using mushrooms as a magical catalyst, and several enchantments for everyday quality-of-life concerns. It was strange, getting the same cleansing effect as a shower with a flick of her wrist and small expenditure of energy, but it was certainly convenient.

"I do believe you've earned a bit of a break. Why don't we all go to Margatroid's place and have tea?" Mima suggested.

"That actually sounds rather nice right about now. I am starting to get a bit low on my nicer teas, though, so it'll have to be one of the human village blends," Alice said. She was seated on a rock, watching, while Marisa had made an army of tiny snowmen around her with arms raised as if in praise of Alice.

The puppeteer casually fired several danmaku bullets from London, obliterating Marisa's tiny snowmen.

"Alice! How could you?!" Marisa cried.

"With the greatest of ease. Who's carrying Marisa?" Alice said.

"I carried her here from Eientei, and Usami isn't exactly great at flying with baggage. I do believe it's your turn," Mima said.

Alice sighed.

"Yes, alright. I wouldn't want Renko to crash with her."

Marisa cheered, and jumped onto Alice's back, arms securely around Alice's shoulders. The magicians took off, and Renko noted with satisfaction that while the group still had to match her speed or leave her behind, she could almost reach Alice's typical flight pace if she pushed herself.

"Marisa, stop elbowing me! I'm not going to fly any faster!" Alice said, frowning, as they approached her house.

"Aww, c'mon, I've barely been out of bed for a week! A whole week of just sitting there! Yagokoro wouldn't even let me get up to pee without someone following me to make sure I didn't trip! Just a _little_ faster?" Marisa pleaded.

"That's more information than I needed!" Alice stubbornly failed to speed up. Marisa was still whining when they landed, and she immediately proceeded to pace in circles to 'decorate' her friend's front lawn with a bunch of random winding squiggles.

Alice ignored her, and walked inside with Renko and Mima tailing her. It wasn't that long before Marisa followed.

"Ah, that reminds me. Renko, I just finished something you might like the other day," Alice said.

"Hm? It's a doll, isn't it?" Renko said, tilting her head. "I like all of your dolls."

"It's two dolls, actually…" Alice made her way to the rows of shelves that contained a doll copy of every notable resident of Gensokyo, and gently lifted two dolls off the top shelf. She hid them behind her back as she walked back.

"Here. I hope I did them right," Alice said, and held the dolls up in plain sight. One was dressed in black and white, with red eyes and a fedora. The other was a blonde doll in purple, with eyes painted brilliant gold.

"I-is that supposed to be me and Merry?" Renko asked. Alice nodded, and Renko smiled in delight. "They look amazing, Alice! I can hardly believe you made this one look so much like Merry, just from my photographs. May I hold it?"

Alice delicately handed over the Maribel doll with the prideful smile of an artist. Renko turned it over in her hands, admiring the detail.

She couldn't help being struck by a sudden longing to hear Merry's voice again, hold her hand, anything. She handed the doll back.

"…It, um, might be a little too good. I miss her," Renko said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But, at least there's only a week left until spring, right? There's going to be a big festival at the Hakurei Shrine for the equinox. Two, technically- one during the day for the humans, one at night for the youkai and Marisa," Alice said, in an attempt to cheer Renko up. Several of her dolls flitted over to the kitchen to prepare tea, and London delicately carried the Renko and Maribel dolls back to the shelf.

"Yeah, and everyone who's anyone in Gensokyo turns up, ze. If your friend isn't there, someone who knows her will be," Marisa chimed in.

Renko nodded, and forced a smile. She'd come this far. She'd find Merry, and everything would be right and okay again.

"Ah, speaking of… Renko, you keep wearing that outfit every day and it makes me a little sad. Why don't you let me make you something nice to wear to the festival?" Alice said.

"I have three of them and they're all a little different," Renko said quickly.

"I know, I know, but… it's so… plain. You didn't answer my question," Alice said.

Renko considered this. She didn't want to trouble Alice, but since she was offering, Renko had to admit it would be a little underwhelming to go to her first festival in Gensokyo in her everyday, outside-world clothes.

"If it isn't a bother, that'd be nice," Renko said.

"Excellent. I'll get you looking like a proper resident of Gensokyo yet," Alice said, smiling.

"Can I help?" Mima asked. Alice's dolls set a teapot down on the table and distributed a cup to everyone.

"No. Your fashion taste is outdated," Alice said. Marisa nearly choked on her tea with laughter, and Mima pretended to look hurt.

"Margatroid, you're going to make me cry," Mima said.

"You can't cry, you don't have a heart," Alice said.

"Yes I do! It just isn't beating. And would probably be pretty disgusting by now, if someone bothered to dig it up," Mima said.

"Mm, no, something probably ate it." Alice sipped at her tea.

"That's… that's actually pretty likely. I'll bet you 100 yen it was Rumia," Mima said. Renko frowned at the name- the darkness youkai had tried to eat her once on the way to Mystia' stand, but had been easily dissuaded by offering a spell card duel. Rumia had complained that a duel meant she wouldn't get to eat her either way and just left.

"Was Rumia even around yet when you died?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"She's older than you'd think." Mima sipped her tea serenely.

"Right." Alice took a sip of her own tea, and Renko followed suit. She silently thanked whatever gods might have been listening for her lessons from Mima. Without them, and her diligent recordings of her experiences in the Sealing Club journal, she wasn't sure she would have lasted this long without getting seriously homesick or missing Merry so much it hurt.

There was just one more week until spring, She could do this.

* * *

...one week later...

* * *

Renko stared at her reflection. She was dressed in a lace-trimmed black skirt a bit longer and flowier than her usual one, with thin white lines forming a large grid across it and glittery white beads made from crystal giving the impression of stars in the night sky. Each bead had caught her aura the moment she put the skirt on, and they were storing excess magic energy where she could access it easily. She twirled once, watching it swish. The blouse she wore was equally frilly, white with a lace trim on the collar, the ends of the sleeves, and the bottom edge, and another black piece of fabric patterned with thin white lines and beads had been crafted into a vest that flared out a bit at the bottom. In place of her usual red tie, a bright scarlet bow was tied around her neck, the ends of the ribbon trimmed in still more lace. Alice had insisted on cleaning her hat and using carefully-applied fabric dye to make it just as strikingly black and white as it had been the day it was bought, and pinned a bright red crystal over the bow. Between the red crystal and the thin red ribbons that bordered every piece of lace, it made her red eyes stand out more than usual.

"So? What do you think?" Alice asked. The dollmaker was admiring her work from a few feet away.

"I'm wearing more lace now than I ever have in the rest of my life combined," Renko said. She lightly smoothed out the vest. "It's, it's really nice, though. I look like a star chart."

"That was deliberate. I thought it thematically matched your ability, and it's much less boring," Alice said with a smile. Renko giggled.

"Well, I like it. Thank you, Alice," Renko said.

"Of course. And if you ever need another outfit, next time I will ask you to cover materials, but sewing something a bit larger than my typical doll dresses is a bit refreshing," Alice said with a smile. "Anyways, you said you wanted to head to the festival around midday in case your friend is there with the humans, right?"

Renko nodded. She had decided that if she left for the Hakurei Shrine around midday, and stayed until midnight, she would have the best chance of finding Merry. She had spent the entire last week both excited and nervous for today, and the day had finally come.

"Well, I'll be coming at sunset, myself. I have some preparations to do for myself and Marisa… I'll see you there, Renko," Alice said.

"Alright. See you later, Alice!" Renko got her things together in her pockets before heading out the door. She kicked off from the ground and glided through the air effortlessly. Six weeks of constant practice was finally paying off—it was nearly instinct now, and while her speed still needed work, she could beat her top pace on a bicycle easily.

Renko hummed to herself as she flew, skimming above the treetops. It wasn't the shortest trip ever, but soon, she glided to a stop at the base of the stairs that led up to the Hakurei Shrine. As she made her way up the steps, there were already a few people from the village scattered around, and there was a respectable crowd around the shrine once she reached the top.

She looked around, watching the crowds. It didn't take her very long to realize that aside from a purple-haired girl she had delivered a considerable amount of mail to, and her ginger-haired friend with bells in her hair who worked at the book-lending store, Renko didn't actually know any of the human villagers well enough to recognize them.

How many humans did she even know now…? Renko mentally counted, and came up with a grand total of two others—Reimu and Marisa. She considered, and decided to half-count Alice because she apparently had been human once and still managed to be more normal than Marisa. That made four and a half humans she had enough contact with to say she knew. Her social circle easily had as many youkai, between Mystia, Alice counting as another half here, Mima, Ran, and Satori. She was still considering where Kaguya fit into the equation when the two girls she had recognized approached, along with a third woman, who had silver hair streaked with blue, a more mature face, and an elegant blue dress, the look ruined by a silly hat that looked like the love-child of a pagoda and a lunchbox.

"Hello, Usami!" Kosuzu said with a friendly smile on her face. "It's good to see you. I almost thought you weren't going to come."

"Ah! Hello, Hieda and Motoori. Sorry for not saying hello earlier, I was, um, thinking," Renko said.

"Don't worry about it. This is a good opportunity to introduce you to Keine, actually," Akyuu said.

"Hello. I believe I've seen you around, but we've never formally met. I'm Keine Kamishirasawa, the local schoolteacher. Everyone calls me Keine, my family name is a bit long," Keine said. She offered Renko a handshake, and Renko accepted it with a friendly smile.

"I'm Renko Usami. I…" Renko's thoughts jumped first to calling herself a physics major, but that wasn't really relevant anymore. Then to calling herself a magician, but that didn't feel appropriate around the townspeople. "I deliver mail. It's nice to meet you."

"Well, Usami, we were about to go talk to Reimu. Do you want to come with us?" Akyuu asked.

"Sure!" Renko smiled, and as Akyuu, Kosuzu, and Keine walked up to the shrine, Renko followed closely. Reimu was standing at the steps, and waved as they approached.

"Hey, Akyuu, Kosuzu, Keine. Nice to see you," the shrine maiden said. She blinked on noticing Renko. "…Oh, hey Usami. I didn't think you were going to show up during the day. Jeez, you almost look like a youkai in that outfit."

Akyuu and Kosuzu glanced questioningly at Renko.

"U-um…" Renko shyly fidgeted with the brim of her hat. She wasn't entirely sure how acceptable it was to be as friendly with youkai as she was.

"Eh, don't worry yourself, Usami. Everyone expects outsiders to be weird," Reimu said.

"You're from the outside world?!" Kosuzu immediately perked up with interest.

"Yes…?"

Renko squeaked in surprise as Kosuzu grabbed her hand.

"Usami, you've been holding out on us! You have to tell us all your cool stories about what it's like! You're not getting off the hook until you've impressed me!" Kosuzu dragged Renko off to find somewhere to sit. Renko stumbled after her, managing not to trip.

"I'm interested too!" Akyuu called, and followed. Keine and Reimu simply watched them go, smiling.

* * *

"You know, given what you've said, I think it's honestly not that big a jump that you went from studying physics in the outside world to studying magic here," Akyuu said from her seat on a log that had been carved into a bench. The sun was just starting to go down—after a while of talking, Kosuzu had insisted on getting something to eat, and then the conversation had resumed.

Renko had looked, but she hadn't seen Merry anywhere.

"Really…? I think it's, uh, pretty different," Renko said. She was sitting on a nice, flat rock off to the side of the shrine, and Kosuzu was beside Akyuu with a box of fish-shaped sweets in her lap. She offered one to Akyuu, who shook her head, then to Renko, who took it with a quiet 'thanks'.

"Well, think about it. If physics is studying how the world works out there, magic is studying how the world works here, with the added benefit of being able to use it for a lot of neat things." Akyuu half-shrugged. "Of course, if you hadn't been protected, there would be no way you could survive out in the Forest of Magic. Even with that, you're lucky it's winter and so the miasma there isn't very thick."

"Yeah… but, um, I already learned a spell to deal with that when it warms up." Renko nibbled on her treat, enjoying the sweet taste. Kosuzu bit one in half, and hastily swallowed it before speaking.

"Hey, that is pretty cool, though. Maybe I could find a physics book? It sounds like cool stuff," she said.

"I remember a lot of it, I could try and teach you some, sometime," Renko offered.

"Sounds great to me!" Kosuzu grinned, and devoured the rest of her fish sweet.

Akyuu giggled, and then stood up and stretched.

"Well, Usami, it's been fun, but it's getting a bit late here. We should head back to the village," she said.

"Oh, um, okay… Have a safe trip back," Renko said.

"Are you staying?" Kosuzu asked, carefully closing up her box of sweets.

Renko nodded.

"Yeah… I want to spend time with all my friends. That means Marisa and Alice too," she said. "And, um, some youkai might know something about my best friend."

"That makes sense. We'll see you later then!" Kosuzu hopped to her feet.

"Yeah, see you," Renko said. She waved as Akyuu and Kosuzu left. She stayed where she was until she had finished her snack, and then got up and walked around to the front of the shrine. Most everyone had already left, and Reimu was sitting on the steps.

"Hey, Usami. I guess you finally managed to get away from Motoori, huh?" Reimu asked.

"Yeah. She's, um, energetic," Renko said.

"Yeah, she does that. Good kid, though." Reimu chuckled quietly, and looked up. "Hey, looks like trouble's here."

Reimu's tone was entirely too calm for her words, and Renko looked up. Marisa and Mima were approaching, with Alice on their tail carrying a few boxes in her arms and transporting several more with a small army of dolls.

"Reimu! Hiya!" Marisa called, and as soon as she landed, she ran over.

"Hey, Marisa! It's good to see you up and about again," Reimu said. She stood up to greet Marisa with a smile.

"It's good to be up and about, I can finally fly again! And I get to see everyone today! And I had time to make fireworks!" Marisa grinned, and offered Reimu a high-five. Reimu returned the gesture.

"I didn't think you were going to make any this time because of your injury… But I'm glad you did. Your fireworks are always a treat. Let's make sure they're all set up for later, alright? Suika should show up with the sake soon," Reimu said.

"Woo!" Marisa cheered, and followed Reimu as energetically as she could without technically running.

* * *

Renko had been expecting to see a lot of youkai.

Over the next couple hours, as the sun finally sank below the trees and the Hakurei Shrine was illuminated only by the moon and countless lanterns hung up around the grounds by Alice's dolls, more youkai had appeared than Renko could even recognize. An orange-haired oni had passed out sake to everyone, and Renko had warily accepted a very, very small dish.

She had to admit, as she leaned on a tree around the edge of the shrine grounds, it probably was one of the better drinks she'd had.

"Renko!"

Renko looked up to see Satori approaching, a smile on her face.

"Satori, hello!" Renko smiled and walked up to greet her.

"I hoped you'd be here. Is Marisa here too?" Satori asked.

 _Yeah, but she's apparently going to be running a fireworks show soon._ Renko quickly settled back into her routine of thinking to Satori, and the youkai smiled.

"I see. That sounds fun, I'm very excited. Also, I've decided I'm going to try and be able to hold proper conversations when I don't have a sore throat. A bit of an exercise in changing habits, you could say, so go ahead and actually speak," Satori said.

"Oh, uh, okay," Renko said. Satori managed to not interrupt her.

"When are those fireworks supposed to be?" Satori asked. "I can't remember if I've ever seen proper fireworks."

Her question was answered by the high-pitched whistle of a rocket, followed by an explosion of brilliant blue sparks in the sky out in front of the shrine.

Satori and Renko both turned to watch as the display continued, with varying flares of light and color painting Gensokyo's night sky with thousands of false stars. The chatter of the gathered youkai nearly ceased as everyone watched the fireworks. The show ended before too long, with a last curtain of violet fireworks that nearly reached the treetops before fizzling out, and Renko couldn't help but wish it had gone on just a bit longer.

Satori was still staring at the sky, entranced, when Renko looked away.

"…And she does this every festival?" Satori asked.

"Um, according to Alice, yes," Renko said.

"Note to self: Attend festivals at the Hakurei Shrine whenever possible," Satori said. Renko giggled.

"Well, I should look around, see if Miss Ran or my best friend is here. Do you want to come with me?" Renko asked.

Satori nodded, and lowered her gaze from the sky. Renko led her around the shrine grounds, passing by Sakuya and Patchouli. Patchouli gave her a nod of acknowledgement, while Sakuya was standing perfectly still beside a girl who resembled Flandre, but had blue hair, a powder-pink outfit, and proper bat wings. The vampire was attempting to shoo Aya away, while the tengu snapped several photographs.

Before too long, Renko had circled back around to the front of the shrine, where Marisa had made her way back to Reimu after the fireworks ended.

"They went exactly how I was hoping! I'm the best at fireworks," Marisa said with a grin.

"Yeah, they were impressive. I guess you must have had a lot of free time to work on them since you couldn't go pester me or Patchouli?" Reimu said, reaching for a dish of sake as Renko and Satori approached.

A narrow violet rip in space suddenly opened, and a hand darted out and quickly stole Reimu's sake dish out from under her hand. Reimu turned in time to see it vanish, and scowled.

"Damnit, Yukari!" she said.

Renko stepped to the side slightly as a woman in a violet dress stepped past her. Ran followed several paces behind, the formal suit she'd worn when Renko met her replaced by a patterned blue and white outfit.

Renko barely noticed the kitsune, as she was too busy staring at the tall youkai, who handed Reimu's drink back with a gleeful grin. Her hair was long, but slightly curly and an incredibly familiar shade of blonde. Her aura was the most intense Renko had encountered yet, and her features were just uncannily beautiful enough to make her look inhuman.

But they were unmistakable.

"Oh, good evening to you too, Reimu. Thank you for asking how my winter was. I slept through it, as usual," Yukari said, playfully elbowing the shrine maiden.

"Should've stayed asleep," Reimu grumbled halfheartedly.

Renko glanced at Ran. The kitsune caught her gaze.

"Well? Go on," Ran said.

Renko took a deep breath. She had been wondering exactly what had happened to Merry, and what Ran had meant when she said time had passed differently for her. She hadn't expected this. How long had she been a youkai? How had she gotten so powerful?

"Um…" Renko approached. Reimu, Marisa, and Yukari looked up at her. She met Yukari's gaze and nearly shivered. Her eyes had such a familiar shape, but they were violet, with feline slits for pupils.

"…Merry?"

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

CLIFF HANGER, HANGING FROM A CLIFF... AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFF HANGER


	13. Spring, Part 1

Chapter 13: Spring, Part 1

* * *

Yukari stood up, and stepped closer to Renko. Renko nearly flinched back, trying not to tremble, and stared back, too nervous to speak. Yukari lightly put one finger under Renko's chin, and turned her head slightly to each side, inspecting Renko's face closely. Renko could feel her heart racing.

"You look exceptionally familiar. Do I know you?" Yukari said, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Ran coughed deliberately.

"Lady Yukari, that's the human you ordered me to bring across the barrier and have protected," the kitsune said.

"Hm? That must have been a very long time ago, I certainly don't remember it." Yukari lowered her hand, and stepped back. "Do you have any idea why I might have done that, er…?"

It was painfully clear that she didn't even remember Renko's name.

"R-Renko. Usami. A-and. Um. This might… help?" Renko couldn't keep her voice from trembling as she carefully reached into her bag and pulled out the one possession that had never left her side: the Sealing Club journal. If there was any hope that Merry—no, Yukari—would remember her, this was it.

She delicately handed it to Yukari, who flipped it open and skimmed through the pages. She stopped, staring at one of the photographs.

"Excuse us. Ran, why don't you go see how Kazami is doing?" Yukari said. Ran nodded, and Satori quickly stepped away from Renko.

Quite suddenly, Yukari flicked her wrist, and reality split open beneath Renko's feet. She yelped as she fell through, and landed on a rock that was perfect for sitting on, off to the side of the shrine, where there was nobody else around. Yukari fell out beside her a moment later, and the tear in reality above Renko's head snapped shut.

"Apologies for that, but I don't want just anyone to overhear this," Yukari said.

"I-it's… okay?" Renko squeaked out. She couldn't shake the feeling of countless eyes watching her from the violet void that filled the gap.

"I remember now. It was so long ago, but I still can't believe I would forget someone so important," Yukari said. She carefully closed the notebook, and idly traced one finger across its cover. "That's right. We were best friends, and when I needed one most, too. Thank goodness Ran's memories are better than mine… I ordered her to bring you here so I could thank you personally for everything."

Renko blinked twice, completely forgetting about the unnerving gap. She still thought she was that important, after being separated so long she'd forgotten Renko's name? The nervousness she'd felt was fading, and she wasn't sure how to feel in its place.

"I'd like to talk, catch up a bit. Would you mind?" she said. Renko took a breath to collect herself. Yukari's smile had a more dangerous edge to it, and revealed the tips of fangs, but other than that, it was Maribel's smile.

"I wouldn't mind, Merry- uh, Yukari," Renko said.

"I don't actually mind if you want to call me Merry. I missed it a bit… Just, ah, don't use it in public. I do have an image to maintain," Yukari said. She offered Renko her hand, and Renko took it.

"Thank you, Merry. I… I missed you," Renko said.

"I missed you too. Especially at first. You're probably wondering exactly what happened, aren't you?" Yukari was quietly studying Renko as they spoke.

Renko nodded.

"Well… It's a bit fuzzy, honestly. But I accidentally sent myself back in time, over a thousand years. I—"

"What?!" Renko stared.

"Yes, that long. I don't remember how long it took me to end up as a youkai, but it turns out that if you are blonde and have gold eyes in ancient Japan, and speak very differently from everyone, people tend to believe you're some sort of supernatural creature. Between that and my ability, it was only a matter of time." Yukari set the Sealing Club journal on her lap.

Renko was still trying to process the fact that the gap in their ages had gone from two years to over a thousand, and yet Yukari was still so much like Merry. Her smile, her voice, her teasing attitude. Her hair was longer, and the red ribbons were new, but she only looked a couple years older for it.

"What have you been up to? You've been here for some time already, haven't you?" Yukari asked.

Renko tried to shake off her shock so she could answer. "Y-yeah. Um, Lady Mima has been teaching me magic. It's really neat, I'm starting to like it better than physics. I've been staying with Alice, she's really nice, and making some money off of delivering mail. And I made friends with Satori."

Yukari smiled, and looked up at the sky.

"My, friends with a Komeiji? I can't say I'd expect that of… anyone but Kirisame, really. I'm glad you've been enjoying my little paradise, though. I really am," she said. She lightly squeezed Renko's hand, and Renko felt her cheeks warm up with a faint blush.

"Thank you for bringing me here. Or, um, having Miss Ran do it. I'm glad it means I get to remember you and study magic," Renko said. She mentally cheered when she didn't stutter.

Yukari giggled quietly, and looked back to Renko.

"You're quite welcome. Now that you're here and I'm awake, I have a gift for you. Bringing you here was simply so that we would still share a world, it doesn't prove my appreciation," she said.

Renko tilted her head slightly.

"Um, you don't have to give me any kind of gift, Merry. I'm happy enough to see you…" she said.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Will you humor a good friend and accept it?" Yukari asked.

Her smile was even less dangerous, and Renko didn't have it in her to refuse. Merry had always gotten so excited when she wanted to do something for her.

"…Well, okay. If you're sure," she said.

"Excellent." Yukari flicked her wrist, and for the second time, Renko yelped as she fell into a gap that opened directly under her.

* * *

Renko wasn't entirely certain what happened as she was falling through the void, because the next thing she knew, she was lying on her back in front of the shrine, feeling dizzy, and a quick glance up told her that several minutes had passed. Yukari stepped out of a different gap beside her.

"Damnit, Yukari! I don't know why I thought leaving you unsupervised with Usami was okay!" Reimu stood up, glaring daggers at the youkai. Renko blinked a few times, trying to figure out why Reimu was annoyed. Satori and Marisa leaned over Renko.

"Oh, don't be like that, Reimu. We were just catching up on old memories, and I just gave her a bit of a present," Yukari said.

"A present?! Is that what you call this? Get out! Out!"

The next thing Renko knew, Yukari was fleeing with an angry Reimu on her tail, flinging amulets and danmaku at her. She sat up, lifting one hand to her head. She still felt a bit dizzy, but it was fading fast, replaced by the realization that her aura felt completely wrong. She waved her hand a bit, and the energy surrounding her followed it, with the sensation of cool liquid light instead of static electricity. Other than that, though, she felt completely fine.

"…What did she do…?" Renko asked, looking up at her friends.

Satori and Marisa exchanged glances.

"Well, Yakumo's power is that she manipulates boundaries. That means she can do stuff like push someone across one, and this isn't just limited to space. She can mess with things like the boundary between life and death, and—" Marisa started.

"She turned you into a youkai, Renko," Satori interrupted.

"I was getting there, ze!" Marisa huffed and crossed her arms.

"W-what?" Renko quickly looked down at herself, looking for something that would tell her whether Satori was right.

"I read her thoughts. She pulled you across the boundary of human and youkai. Your essence and aura are that of a youkai now, and your body will catch up soon," Satori said.

"You are super lucky you're an outsider and Yukari's the one who did this, 'cause humans from the village aren't allowed to become youkai willingly. That's, like, an instant mark for extermination," Marisa said.

"I-I didn't sign up for this! S-she just asked to give me a present, and now I'm apparently a youkai? W-what do I even do?!" Renko wriggled her fingers, shivering a bit at the unfamiliar sensation of her aura lazily flowing around her hand.

"Well, I'd say you could ask her to turn you back, but it seems Reimu chased her off," Satori said. Reimu glided back over, a scowl on her face.

"Please don't hurt me she didn't tell me she was going to do this," Renko said hastily, pulling her hat over her face and pulling her knees up against her chest.

"I know better than to try and exterminate Yakumo's newest plaything. For her to do this, though… You are one unlucky woman, Usami. Nothing good ever comes of Yukari's meddling," Reimu said. She took her seat on the steps again, and Renko uncurled herself and looked up again.

"For now, this is my one night up here until the summer solstice, and I intend to spend it enjoying your and Marisa's company. Why don't you just… try and ignore it, and relax?" Satori said.

Renko closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded. Right. She'd make the best of the time she had with Satori, and she'd deal with this in the morning.

* * *

Renko slowly stirred. The previous evening had actually been very fun, once she started getting used to the change in her aura and simply went on as if nothing had happened. After taking Satori back to the entrance to the underground, she had gone back home with Alice.

A quick glance at the window told her that after staying up so late, she had accidentally slept until midday.

Ah well. She wasn't sure how the village would react if she showed up to her job as a youkai, anyways.

Renko sat up, and paused. There was an unusual, but not entirely unfamiliar sensation on her back. She twisted around to see that a pair of sleek feathered wings now extended from her back. Unlike Mima's enchantment, though, they were completely solid. Renko gingerly stroked one. She could feel her hand through the wing as naturally as she felt the wing through her hand. The feathers were a glossy black, flecked with white, and looked like the night sky, but with every shift and motion, iridescent colors shimmered across her wings. It looked like an aurora. Each wing had a hooked black claw at the wrist, and she found she could move them, perhaps to grip something.

One of Renko's ears idly flicked, and she paused, lifting her hand to her ear. Her fingers met more feathers, and she got up and moved to the mirror to inspect herself. She squeaked in embarrassment when doing so caused her nightgown, which had apparently torn under the strain of trying to contain her new wings, to fall off.

Renko inspected her own blushing face in the mirror. Her eyes had brightened from wine-red to brilliant scarlet, and her ears were now long points lined with iridescent night-sky feathers. She experimentally tilted them up, where they almost looked like owl 'horns', then out to the sides. Moving her ears felt strange, and she scooped up her nightgown and tossed it into the corner before trying to get dressed.

It became very obvious very quickly that wasn't going to work. She was able to get her bra on—the band fit under the arm of her wing and under the feathers, even though she had to loosen the straps to make it work—but trying to pull a shirt on over them proved impossible. Renko shuffled over to the door, fully dressed but for her top.

"Alice?" Renko called, opening the door just a sliver and peering out.

"One second," Alice said. About a minute later, she came into view. "What is it?"

"Um. So, you remember how Mer- Yukari turned me into a youkai?" Renko said.

"It's hard to forget," Alice said.

Renko opened the door slightly wider and poked the tip of one wing out into the hall.

"Well, I grew wings and now I can't put a shirt on," she said.

Alice sighed.

"I'll get my sewing basket."

* * *

Renko had to admit, cutting slits down the back of her shirt and adding buttons so she could secure it under her wings was an effective solution to the problem. She nibbled on a slice of homemade bread while one of Alice's dolls finished buttoning her top under the wing.

"There. Were you thinking of asking Yakumo to turn you back into a human?" Alice said.

"Um…" Renko considered the question, and finished the bite of bread in her mouth before speaking. "Honestly? She wouldn't do this if she didn't think it was a good thing. And after she just casually turned me into a youkai, I don't want to know what she'd do if I upset her. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd be just peachy if someone refused a gift from her."

Alice nodded.

"I'll do the rest of your shirts, and your vest, later, then. And I'll have to put wings on my doll of you." Alice delicately put her needles and buttons away, and closed the lid on her basket of sewing supplies. "I'm honestly not sure what sort of youkai you are now, though. Your wings look very nice, but I've never seen anything like them before."

Renko folded the wings in, and curled the claws over her shoulders to hold them more naturally in place.

"I don't know either. Uh, maybe Lady Mima will know?"

Alice hummed to herself, tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair.

"Maybe. It's worth asking. You should fly over and ask," she said.

"Alright. I'll be back later." Renko stood up and made her way outside.

She glanced over her shoulder at her wings, and unfolded them before kicking off into the air. She experimentally flapped them, and quickly found she could fly much faster and more efficiently by using them to move larger amounts of the ambient magic in the air around her. She giggled as she flew in a loop, and then tucked her wings in and rolled sideways in the air before snapping her wings open to catch herself.

Renko found herself reaching Mima's house well before she had been expecting, and she glided down. Her feet had barely touched the ground when Mima phased out through the door.

"Ah my. I heard you'd had a run-in with Yakumo, but this is not what I expected," Mima said.

"Hi, Lady Mima. I… I guess I'm a youkai now?" Renko said.

"You certainly are. My, though… I suppose I could have just left that enchantment on you, as it seems you've ended up with permanent space wings anyways," Mima said, watching Renko's iridescent feathers shimmer from the faint motions of her breathing.

"This won't affect my lessons, will it…?" Renko asked.

"It will, but positively! We don't have to focus so completely on self-defense and we can start on different schools of magic much sooner than I'd been expecting," Mima said.

"Oh." Renko smiled. That was certainly better than she'd feared. "Um, Lady Mima, do you have any idea what kind of youkai I am? Alice didn't know."

Mima floated around Renko, looking her over thoughtfully.

"Something connected to light, I'd imagine. In the day, your wings look dark yet shimmery, but at night, they'd look almost like they're made of light. And the night is the domain of youkai. I can't pin a species, though."

Renko nodded, a bit disappointed. She had hoped to learn what she was, but even Mima wasn't sure.

"I, um, I was hoping you'd know. It's kind of weird, not knowing what I am," she said.

"Well, why not ask Hieda, in the human village? She has an eidetic memory and knowledge of nearly every sort of youkai that has appeared in Gensokyo," Mima said.

Renko's heart sank a bit at the thought of explaining to Akyuu that she'd ended up as a youkai.

"I guess that's a good idea," Renko said.

"Why don't you do that now? Your lessons can wait until tomorrow, you've just experienced a major change in your life and self and I don't mind giving you the time you need to adjust," Mima said.

"…Thank you, Lady Mima." Renko smiled. Mima really did have a heart in there somewhere.

"Best of luck!" Mima waved as Renko took off flying again.

* * *

Renko blinked several times. She knew the village was here, but here she was, standing where the village gate should be and staring into an empty field.

"…What's going on here…?" Renko wondered aloud.

"Usami?" Keine walked over, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, um, hello, miss Keine! What happened? Why is the village missing? I-is everyone okay?" Renko asked. Her wingtips fluttered anxiously.

"I hid the village because I sensed an unfamiliar youkai approaching. But it seems that was just… you? Usami, why are you a youkai? You were human yesterday," Keine said.

Renko glanced at the place where the village wasn't, and one of her ears tilted to the side. Keine could just… hide it? That was new. She took a deep breath and started to explain.

"Well, I… I met Yukari Yakumo last night. And, she asked if she could give me a present, so I said okay, but then it turned out that she meant turning me into a youkai, and Hakurei chased her off before I could say anything about it," she said.

Keine sighed and shook her head.

"Yakumo, huh? You're lucky that's all she did to you. Now, please remember that if you hurt anyone from the village, it's not going to end well for you," Keine said.

"W-why would I hurt anyone?" Renko's wings reflexively fluffed up in slight distress.

"I have to be careful, Usami. It's my responsibility to make sure dangerous youkai don't just waltz in. But I think it's okay to let you in. After all, Hieda and Motoori trust you as a person. Just… Be careful, okay?" Keine said.

"Okay." Renko nodded, and suddenly, they were standing under the gate to the village, exactly where it was supposed to be.

"Take care now," Keine said, and turned to go. Renko walked into the village, wings folded up so they wouldn't get in anyone's way.

She quickly noticed that, while nobody seemed particularly concerned about her presence, the humans were more aware of her now. There was no chance of accidentally bumping into someone, because people actively glanced her way and made space.

It made her more than a little self-conscious.

Before too long, Renko stood at the front door of the Hieda household. She fidgeted nervously, trying to work up the nerve to knock.

She had almost convinced herself that Akyuu wasn't going to hate her forever when the door slid open.

"You're making the cats nervous, what do you—Oh! Usami…?" Akyuu tilted her head, frowning.

"Um. Hi, Hieda… L-look, I met Yukari Yakumo last night, she—" Renko started.

"Oh, Yukari. That explains it. Come in," Akyuu said, and stepped out of the doorway. Renko couldn't help but be surprised that had worked.

"Do you, um, have any idea what kind of youkai I am?" Renko asked as Akyuu led her to a comfortable sitting area.

"Hm. Can you unfold one of your wings for me?" Akyuu asked.

"Sure…" Renko stretched out one feathered wing, and Akyuu quietly inspected it for a moment before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Elux Lucis. A rare type of youkai related to dragons, created in relatively recent times. Appear to be made of light, but are actually solid, nocturnal, and covered in black feathers speckled with false stars that shimmer with colorful reflections and iridescence. Usually benevolent, but dangerous when provoked or hungry," Akyuu recited. She offered Renko a plate of filled mochi. "Want one? I got these because I'm expecting Kosuzu over later, but there are plenty extra."

"Thank you." Renko took one, and tucked her wing back while nibbling on the treat. As soon as Akyuu had said it, she knew she was right. It was as much a fact of her existence now as having hands was.

"I wonder if Yukari picked that deliberately, or if an Elux Lucis is just what you would have been if you'd been born as a youkai? Either way, you're the first one that's been seen since about a decade after Gensokyo was sealed," Akyuu said.

Renko gave a small sigh. She was pretty sure that meant she wasn't going to be able to track down another one to ask what being an Elux was supposed to be like. Then she realized she'd already internalized the simple fact that she was a youkai, and spent a few seconds trying to think of herself as she had been just the other day. It was already getting surprisingly difficult to associate herself with the concept of human, and she wasn't sure she could talk herself into wanting to go back.

"…Um, is it supposed to be really hard to think of myself as a human, even though I was just yesterday…?" Renko asked.

"Oh, that's completely normal for youkai that used to be human. One of the defining qualities of youkai is that unless they're seriously mentally traumatized, they're pretty universally proud of their nature," Akyuu said.

Renko nodded, and frowned a bit. It was really, really creepy that just because she already was a youkai, her psychology had shifted to make it difficult to think of herself as anything else. If she'd been given the opportunity to consent with that knowledge…

…she still couldn't grasp the thought of not wanting to be a youkai, and that made her shiver a bit.

"It feels really weird. Even if I try to think about how creepy that is, I can't make myself not think of myself as a youkai, and that I'm supposed to be a youkai. I know I wouldn't have thought this way yesterday," Renko said. She idly nibbled on her mochi again, enjoying the sweet red bean filling.

"Yeah, it's kind of weird. Youkai are creepy, it's what they're there for." Akyuu shrugged.

"Thanks," Renko muttered, glancing down.

"I didn't mean that in a bad way! Honestly, I talk to youkai all the time. And hey, at least you can't possibly be any creepier than Komeiji…"

"H-hey, Satori is my friend," Renko protested.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about Satori. Satori's okay, I meant the other Komeiji. Koishi. Gods, she's creepy," Akyuu said.

Renko shivered slightly at the mention of Koishi's name, but couldn't place why.

"Anyways, as long as you're here, and as long as you're a youkai, I should start on your entry in my youkai encyclopedia. I won't get very far for now, but it never hurts to have a framework set up!" Akyuu pulled some paper and a brush out from under the table.

"You have a youkai encyclopedia…?" Renko asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, and it sells really well in the village. I've been putting together a new edition, and more entries are always welcome." Akyuu started to write in a simple outline, paying little attention to making her handwriting legible. "Okay, so, let's see…"

* * *

The Guiding North Star

Renko Usami

Ability: Can navigate perfectly using the stars and tell the time using the moon.

Threat Level: Medium

Human Friendship Level: High

Main Place of Activity: Forest of Magic, Human Village

Outside-world rumors of a benevolent dragon made of light ended up creating a new type of youkai: the Elux Lucis. However, they quickly vanished, likely due to the vague nature of their rumors and their low aggression. Years later, though, one of these youkai has finally returned to Gensokyo.

Renko Usami is a youkai from the outside world. She is instantly recognizable by her large feathered wings that have claws on the wrist. During the day, they look like iridescent pieces of the night sky. At night, though, they look like they are made of shimmering light.

(Of course they would match the rumors at night. Night is when youkai are supposed to be awake, after all.)

Renko is studying magic under the vengeful spirit Mima, also known for teaching Marisa Kirisame and Yuuka Kazami. This makes her potentially very dangerous. Luckily, though, Elux Lucis are not particularly aggressive, and one can usually avoid a fight simply by being polite.

If you are lost, and you see Renko in the sky, call her down and she can give you directions. Make sure to be polite, though. After all, she could just as easily give you directions straight into a more dangerous youkai's lair.

(Just because Elux Lucis were benevolent in the original rumors doesn't mean they have to be nice. Especially if you do something to offend them.)

Sometimes, she can be seen in the human village. That's okay, she simply delivers mail. She is a somewhat human-like youkai and likes to have some spare money.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

So, who was expecting youkai Renko? Personally, I really enjoy exploring what it's like from the perspective of non-human characters. This was planned from the beginning.


	14. Spring, Part 2

Chapter 14: Spring, Part 2

* * *

Renko hummed quietly to herself as she glided through the sky towards Mystia's stand. Helping Akyuu write her article had been fun, and while Akyuu had insisted on leaving out her human origins and trying to make her sound more mysterious and dangerous, overall, she felt like it was a pretty good representation.

The sun had gone down, and the sky was growing dark, but several lanterns kept the lamprey stand well-lit.

"Hello, Mystia," Renko said as she landed, tucking her wings in against her back.

"Hello, Renko!" Mystia looked up, and raised an eyebrow, looking at Renko's wings. "…You know, I'm not going to give you a discount for pretending to be a bird youkai."

"I'm not pretending. Um, can I get a lamprey, please?" Renko said. She walked over and took a seat, and demonstrated by stretching one wing out and flicking her ears.

Mystia's eyes widened in surprise, and she stared as Renko tucked her wing back in and fluffed the feathers once so they would flatten out nicely. Slowly, though, a grin spread across her face.

"Wow, Renko, I didn't know you had it in you. Finally realized being a youkai is way better than being a human, huh? Or just a lucky encounter on your end?" Mystia set about starting a skewered lamprey on the grill.

"Um, more the second one. It wasn't really a choice," Renko said with a half-shrug.

"Mmh, still, good for you. I like your wings, feathered wings are clearly the best. What kind of youkai are you, actually? Can't say I've seen wings like that before," Mystia said.

Renko blushed faintly at the praise. She had to admit, her feathers were really neat. They seemed like the sort of thing someone might make jewelry out of.

"Thank you. I'm an Elux Lucis, according to Hieda." Renko straightened up in her seat a bit proudly as she spoke.

"I have no idea what that is, but it sure sounds cool," Mystia said. She turned the lamprey over to cook on the other side and lightly dusted it with seasoning.

Renko giggled, and fished some money out of her pocket to pay for her meal. She handed the coins over to Mystia.

"I think it's pretty cool, actually. Of all the things I could have ended up as, it's probably the best one," she said.

"I agree," Yukari said, stepping smoothly out of a sudden rip in reality. Behind her, Ran followed, and at the kitsune's heels was a two-tailed brunette catgirl with an orange-red dress and a green mob cap.

Mystia stiffened slightly on seeing her. Yukari stepped forwards, and put her hand on the seat beside Renko.

"May I?" she asked. Renko blinked a couple times, but nodded, and Yukari sat beside her. Ran and the catgirl filled in the other seats.

"Good evening, Lorelei. We'll take four, please. Two for me," Yukari said.

"They're not small, you know," Mystia said. She quickly started on the order, even so.

"I know. Sleeping through a whole season tends to leave me fairly hungry when I wake up, though," Yukari said.

"…I didn't know you hibernated," Renko said. It did sound like the kind of thing Merry would do, though. Mystia handed Renko her grilled lamprey, and Renko took it with a delighted smile.

"So, how are you liking being a youkai?" Yukari said, hungrily eying Renko's meal.

"It's, uh, different. I like the wings. I don't like how everyone in the village kept looking at me," Renko said. She took a bite of her fish, and was suddenly reminded of just how hungry she was. She had to restrain herself from attacking it with her teeth.

"They do look very nice. May I touch them?" Yukari asked. Renko gave a half-shrug. She trusted Yukari not to pull the feathers out or anything. Yukari reached over and gently ran her fingers along the arm of Renko's wing, then down the flight feathers. Her touch sent a pleasant shiver through Renko's body.

As Yukari pulled her hand away, Renko relaxed slightly. She felt pretty good, all things considered.

"Hiya, Lady Yukari's Renko friend! We haven't met. I'm Chen," the catgirl said, leaning around Ran and waving excitably.

"She's my familiar. She wanted to go with me to pick you up when we met, but I thought it would be best if she stayed home," Ran explained.

"Um, hello, Chen. It's nice to meet you," Renko said. She quietly resumed eating, while Yukari happily accepted a lamprey from Mystia and proceeded to bite about half of it off at once, bones and all. Ran sighed and tried not to watch. Renko wasn't surprised in the least, but winced slightly at the crunching noises. Ran and Chen got their grilled fish next, and Yukari tore the other half of her lamprey off its skewer just in time to set the stick aside and take her second.

"This lamprey's really good, Mystia. I love fish!" Chen said between bites. Mystia smiled proudly.

"Of course it's good. My lamprey stand is the best food stand outside the Human Village. Maybe even the best in Gensokyo," she said.

"I agree," Yukari said after swallowing her mouthful of fish. "We'll have to come by again."

Mystia paled slightly, but stayed quiet as Yukari ripped her second lamprey in half. Renko delicately picked the last bits of meat off the bones of her own lamprey. She hadn't meant to eat so quickly, but it had just tasted so good, and she had been hungrier than she'd thought.

Yukari glanced at Ran, who quietly took out an embroidered silk pouch and handed over a handful of coins to Mystia. The bird youkai's eyes lit up as she accepted the payment.

"Well, thank you for your business," Mystia said, eagerly putting the coins away.

There was one last snap of bones, and Yukari set her second skewer down, a dreamy expression on her face.

"Ahh, just what I needed," she said.

Renko giggled quietly. Not eating for long periods, and then eating way too much, way too quickly… That was certainly a Maribel sort of thing to do.

It wasn't too much longer until Ran and Chen had also finished their meals, and Renko found herself getting up to leave as Yukari and the two beast youkai did.

"Bye, Mystia, see you," Renko said. She waved with one hand, and Mystia returned the gesture.

"Ran, Chen, you two can go on home. I think I'll escort Renko home. After all, it's polite," Yukari said.

"You don't have to," Renko said.

"Yes, but I'd like to get to talk a bit anyways. Unless you don't want me?" Yukari said the last part teasingly.

"Ah… In that case, um, sure," Renko said, smiling. Even if Yukari really should have asked her and told her what she was asking before turning her into a youkai, she was still her friend. Her much older, youkai friend… but still. The fact that her appearance had changed so little really did a lot to help Renko cope. She could almost pretend that other than the fact they were both youkai, everything was the same.

Ran and Chen took off, and Renko fluttered her wings and lifted off. Yukari easily matched her pace, and glanced admiringly at Renko's wings. It was dark out, and the light of the nearly-full moon made Renko's wings shimmer.

"That look really suits you," Yukari said. Renko looked back over her shoulder. While the stars on her wings didn't tell her anything about where she was, she had to admit that without that, the shimmers did make it look like she had wings made of shining light.

"Yeah… I think so too. Um, Merry… You really should have told me what you were planning, though," Renko said. "I'm not exactly mad at you, but… This is a pretty big change, to not actually let me know what you were asking."

"It worked out, didn't it?" Yukari tilted her head slightly.

"Yes, but still. Merry, please tell me things, I don't like being left out, and then you expect me to like what you come up with… I usually do, but there's still a chance I won't," Renko said.

Yukari lightly scratched the back of her head.

"Ah…" She looked up at Renko. "…you're right. I will be sure to ask you about these things in the future. Or, if I really want to surprise you, I'll ask someone close to you what they think you would say. Is that acceptable, Renko?"

Renko smiled. Good, it seemed that she was still willing to listen to her.

"Yeah. Thanks, Merry."

"Of course." Yukari glided along quietly for a bit, simply letting the wind ruffle her dress.

After a minute of quiet, though, Yukari spoke up again.

"Ah, Renko? Ran said you agreed very quickly and came willingly." Yukari stared off at the sky, as if considering how best to continue. "…You could have resisted. But she barely had to try. Am I truly that important to you?"

Renko fluttered her wings in a sudden turn, and darted at Yukari. From the way she shifted to face her, Renko knew she hadn't caught her off guard.

She threw her arms around her in a hug anyways.

"Merry, I'd hardly spent a day without you since we met. Well, except when you were in the hospital that one time… and that was awful! Aside from my cousin, who's, um, kind of a jerk, you were the only person I could talk to about my ideas that magic was real. And, you were a really good friend, you really helped me be less shy. I was so worried when you went missing…" Renko tightened her hold on Yukari. She hadn't been quite as consciously aware of scents as a human, but Yukari smelled distinctly of some kind of sweet flower she couldn't quite place.

Yukari giggled quietly, and ran her fingers through Renko's hair, poking them just under her hat. Renko blushed, but didn't have the heart to object. After all, it felt very nice, especially when she started idly scratching just behind one of Renko's feathered ears.

"I'm touched." Yukari lowered her hand, and Renko let go and fluttered back slightly. Her cheeks still felt warm. "Really, I am. In all this time, I've met only a very small handful of beings who have any particular attachment to me as a person. And every single one of them is important to me."

Renko smiled shyly. If Yukari still cared about her that much, it was no wonder she had wanted to make her a youkai.

"At any rate, though, we should probably get you home. Margatroid is probably wondering where you are," Yukari said.

"O-oh, right!" Renko took off again, and Yukari continued to match her pace effortlessly. With her newfound speed, it wasn't terribly long before she landed on the grass outside Alice's house. The warm glow of candle-light lit the windows, and Alice looked up from her workbench and waved. Renko waved back as Yukari landed beside her.

"Well, I have things to attend to tonight… I'll have to take my leave. But, for such a close friend, I have something I'd like to give you," Yukari said.

"Please tell me it isn't another unexplained species change," Renko said. She was only mostly joking.

"Nothing of the sort, no." With a flick of her wrist, Yukari produced a black key that was strung on a long red ribbon tied in a bow. "If you go to Mayohiga, it's on the border of Gensokyo if you turn 37 degrees south from your current position and fly straight, and use this on any door, you can come by my home. Just, ah, do keep in mind I am nocturnal. I'll instruct Ran and Chen to treat you well if you turn up while I'm asleep, of course."

Renko nodded, with a small smile on her face. Then Yukari playfully dropped the key down the front of Renko's shirt, and she squeaked and flushed bright red. Before she could recover, the blonde youkai stepped back and vanished into a gap.

Renko stood there, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, for nearly a full minute before going inside.

* * *

"Aaaah!"

"Ahahaha! I'm the strongest!"

Renko's job delivering mail in the village had gone smoothly, despite the occasional odd look. Then Renko had decided to fly to this Mayohiga place, just to memorize where it was.

The problem started when she had to fly over the Misty Lake to get there. She dropped sharply to avoid a snowball from the ice-winged fairy chasing her.

She hadn't even agreed to a snowball fight.

"Hey, stop flying around all crazy! I'm trying to hit you with snowballs!" Cirno said, and launched several more.

"I don't like getting hit with snowballs!" Renko flapped her wings frantically, darting left. One of the snowballs splattered on her wing, and she cringed at the sensation of damp coldness creeping between her feathers.

"Heads up! Love Sign 'Master Spaaark'!"

A brilliant rainbow laser shot out from the side, and Cirno failed to get out of the way in time. Renko shielded her eyes, but the intense noise and the way the air itself shook still got through. Once it faded, the fairy drifted to the ground, dazed and slightly scorched.

Marisa flew over on her broom with a grin.

"Yo, Renko! Nice wings!" Marisa said.

"Thank you!" Renko fluttered her wings twice to dislodge the snow. "I see you're really enjoying getting to fly again."

"Yup! Figured it's been way too long since I flew around and saw everyone. I even visited the underground earlier, ze," Marisa said. "What are you up to?"

"Um, I'm trying to go to Mayohiga," Renko said.

"You're lookin' for Yakumo on purpose after she turned you into a youkai? Tryin' to fight her or something? You're gonna lose, ze." Marisa tilted her head.

"No, no! Um. I'm not going to actually visit her today, but, um, she invited me to come over and hang out sometime." Renko shyly scratched the back of her head.

"…Oookay. Well, I guess I already knew you had weird taste in friends since you're chill with Satori. Hey, look what I found while I was flying around yesterday," Marisa said. She pulled out a purple stone sphere that gave off an eerie glow.

"Oh, um, what is it?" Renko quietly inspected it.

"No idea! But it's glowy, and more importantly, it's got a ton of magic in it. Gets even more when it's exposed to dumb rumors, like haunted school stories. I'm gonna use it to power something really cool." Marisa twirled the orb on the tip of one finger, where it somehow balanced.

"Oh? Like what?" Renko tilted her head.

"That's a secret, but it's gonna be the best. Anyways, I need to get some more stuff in order to pull this off. I'm breaking into Patchy's library to borrow a copy of the directions, that's why I'm here, ze," Marisa said. She tossed the orb up, caught it on its way down, and pocketed it.

"Good… luck?" Renko had the feeling that trying to discourage her would be completely ineffective.

"Thanks! And good luck with your date, ze!" Marisa waved, preparing to zip off.

"It's not a date! W-Why would you even say that?!" Renko sighed, and waved. Marisa took off, and Renko hovered in place for a bit before continuing on.

* * *

Renko landed on one foot on top of a signpost, holding her wings out for balance. She had always wanted to do this sort of thing, and nobody was around to scold her.

Mayohiga was a fairly normal-looking village, smaller than the human village, but still and quiet. The only sounds were the quiet noises of nature from the surrounding forest. Not a single human or youkai could be seen in the streets, but a few cats, ravens, and other animals sat under porches and on rooftops here and there.

Renko turned her gaze to the sky. It was easy enough to memorize her coordinates if she looked back into Gensokyo. The sky beyond Mayohiga held no stars, and if she squinted a bit, she could make out a hazy red-violet swirling in the near distance.

That had to be the Great Hakurei Barrier. Yukari had said this was near the edge of Gensokyo, after all.

Renko hopped down, and walked around, looking at the clean but untouched buildings. A stray cat wandered up, and looked up at her. She bent down to pet it, and smiled—it was soft, and started purring as she stroked it.

"Hey, kitty friends!" A familiar voice called. The cat took off running, and the other cats in the area followed. Renko curiously followed the voice and the cats to find Chen with a bag of dry cat food in her arms, surrounded by cats. Chen easily clawed the sack open, and set it down before the swarm of cats could overtake her.

Chen looked up, noticed Renko, and her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh! Hi, Lady Yukari's friend!" Chen gracefully jumped over the gathered cats, flipped in the air, and landed on her feet.

"Um, hello, Chen," Renko said.

"What's up? I'm just feeding my kitty friends. Lady Ran says I shouldn't do this too often, but every once in a while, well." Chen had a friendly smile on her face, and a cat that had already eaten its fill rubbed its cheek on her leg and meowed. She knelt and scooped the cat up in her arms before standing up straight.

"I just came here so I can memorize where it is, and, um, come visit later. Yukari gave me a key…" Renko shuffled awkwardly and hoped she wasn't blushing simply from remembering the circumstances.

"Oh, neat! You know, if you ever need advice from another youkai who isn't super old, I was never a human or anything, but I can do my best to tell you what you need to know," Chen said, smiling.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything, um, super important I should know?" Renko said.

"One of the most important things to remember is that your youkai powers are basically use-them-or-lose-them! What can you do?" Chen asked.

"Um… well, I can still tell exactly where I am, at all times, by looking at the sky, and I can cast spells, and I can fly…" Renko looked up sheepishly.

Chen nodded, contemplating this.

"…Okay, no offense, but that's kind of lame. How are you supposed to be a proper memorable and scary youkai if you're basically a fluffy magician who doesn't get lost?" she said.

Renko's ears reflexively tilted down and to the sides and she glanced down.

"I know it's, uh, not very impressive…" she said.

"No, but you probably have some kind of species thing you can do! I know that Lady Ran's main abilities are calculation stuff, but she can still summon foxfire and shapeshift like any kitsune. We just have to figure out what you've got," Chen said. She circled Renko, and set the cat in her arms down before lightly tugging on Renko's feathers.

"What are you doing? That kind of hurts," Renko said. Her wings flinched away, tucking in against her back.

"I'm looking for a loose feather. I'm not as good at divination as Lady Ran, but I can probably still figure out what you can do if I get one," Chen said. Renko frowned, but let Chen run her hands through her wings until, with a twist and only a pinprick of pain, Chen triumphantly held up one starry, iridescent feather.

"Here we go! Alright, let's see here…" Chen took a few steps back, and Renko turned to watch. Chen conjured several small white magic circles, with the feather suspended in the center of one. She stuck the tip of one finger in her mouth while she manipulated the circles with her other hand. Renko watched complex symbols spin around the feather.

"…Well, I'm not completely sure, but do you know any light or star magic?" Chen dispelled the circles, and caught the feather out of the air.

"Yes, I do. That's what my teacher has mostly been getting me to work on lately," Renko said.

"Cool. Okay, let's have a danmaku battle! We'll use spell card rules, but make up patterns as we go. I'll go easy on you, don't worry," Chen said, grinning.

"Um, okay…" Renko fluffed her wings slightly.

"Three hits each, and loser buys the winner a small bag of sweets. Sound good?" Chen asked. Her twin tails swished.

"Yeah." Renko nodded. Her budget, limited as it was, could allow that if she lost.

"Alright! Let's fly up some so we don't scare the kitties." Chen leapt up into the air, and Renko flapped her wings and took off after her. Soon, the empty buildings were a good ways below them, and Chen was floating across from Renko. Several of the ravens had moved to closer rooftops to watch.

"You ready?" Chen called. Renko tucked her wings in to make herself a smaller target.

"As ready as I'm going to be," Renko said.

"Alright, three! Two! One! Go!" On 'go', Chen took off through the air, flying around in an almost-random bouncing pattern and firing bursts of danmaku in every direction around her every few moments. Renko quickly gathered her energy, and conjured several star-shaped bullets. They took much less energy than she was used to, and she blinked a couple times before grinning. She had a lot more to work with now, it seemed. She stayed mostly in place, weaving around the incoming bullets, and channeled star magic into rings of danmaku bullets that were loosely aimed at Chen. Meanwhile, she took careful aim and fired a circle of lasers around Chen. Chen was moving too fast, though, and in the instant between creating the lasers and fully sending the energy through, she had already escaped the laser circle.

Renko took aim again, but suddenly Chen zipped past her, expertly weaving between Renko's bullets while keeping her path mostly straight, and Renko tried to dodge, but several of Chen's bullets struck at once. She let out a yelp of pain and stopped firing.

"Don't just stand there and get hit, Renko," Chen said, sticking out her tongue teasingly. "C'mon, have some fun!"

"Okay, okay…" Renko sighed, and spread her wings. She needed them if she wanted to match Chen's mobility. Chen took off flying again, and this time, Renko kept an eye on the catgirl and deliberately flew away, not letting Chen get close. Chen responded with aimed lasers, and waves of danmaku that spread like ripples from the lasers.

"Aaaah! That doesn't even make sense!" Renko cried as she ducked under several bullets. She quickly tried to think of how to retaliate.

…Well, if Chen could make her bullets appear some distance away from her…

Renko focused intently, trying to create a grid of incomplete, harmless lasers around the area, centered on her. Her aura flared and expanded, scattering bits of Renko's energy throughout the stretch of sky.

Quite suddenly, Renko was intensely aware of where each and every danmaku bullet was, where Chen was, without even having to look. She reflexively darted up to avoid a laser from the side that wasn't quite in her field of vision. She simply knew exactly where everything was around her, and when it would reach her.

Renko flapped her wings, smiling in delight at this new awareness, and continued to stay out of the dangerous range of Chen's attacks. She conjured a grid of harmless white lines through her aura, and fired off aimed lines of star bullets from three random points around Chen. If Chen was headed towards a laser too quickly, Renko poured more power into it to create a sudden obstacle. Meanwhile, being able to simply know where each bullet was made dodging almost a second thought.

It was only a minute or so before Chen let out a cross between a yelp and a meow, and rubbed one of her tails where a bullet had struck her. Renko stopped firing, and the lasers vanished, but she didn't pull her aura back in yet.

"Wow, that came out of nowhere! Figure out a new trick?" Chen asked.

"Yeah! Um… It's sort of a wider-range version of my ability. It makes dodging a lot easier," Renko said.

"Nice! Let's see what other tricks you have!" And with that, Chen went zipping around again.

Renko giggled, and kept careful track of Chen and her bullets, while the catgirl fired off rapidly-moving storms of bullets that resembled fireworks from all around.

She glanced at her own wings, since she didn't actually need to look in order to dodge now. She hadn't tried any light magic since becoming a youkai, that seemed like a good idea…

A pulsing wave of multicolored light, harmless but slightly disorienting, flared around Renko and slowly expanded. Renko blinked a couple of times. She hadn't meant to make it so big. As it expanded, Renko willed the magic to shift.

The lazily-expanding wave suddenly crystallized into so many tiny danmaku slivers Renko couldn't even attempt to count them, and exploded out so quickly that Renko's awareness made her dizzy from trying to track them. Chen cried out in alarm, and then again in pain when one struck her side.

"That, uh, worked a lot better than I expected. I think I'm a lot better at light magic," Renko said. She shook her head quickly to clear it—she was starting to feel a bit lightheaded. She was using a lot of energy in this little sparring match.

"I'll say. Makes sense you'd be good with light, huh?" Chen shook herself off. She took a breath to steady herself, and Renko wondered if Chen was feeling as tired as she was.

"Yeah, it does. Let's… Let's keep going, okay?" Renko said. Chen nodded, and started off again. Renko fired off a few smaller light spells, sending out pulsing flashes of light that shattered into aimed streams of bullets. Chen was much faster at avoiding these, though, and Renko had to weave around interlaced lasers and streams of aimed bullets while trying to hit her. She'd have to catch Chen off-guard if she wanted to get another hit.

Renko wobbled a bit in the air while trying to dodge, and braced herself before the bullet struck her wing. She had been fully aware she was in its path and she wasn't going to be able to dodge, but that didn't keep her from whimpering and dropping a foot or so in the air when it struck.

"Looks like the next hit decides the match!" Chen bobbed excitedly in the air. Renko noted with some dismay that she didn't look tired at all.

"Right." Renko took off flying again, more than a bit unsteadily. Chen didn't let up in the slightest, and darted around trying to box Renko in with lines of bullets that spread out into waves as they went. Renko carefully crafted a sphere of concentrated light magic energy while moving, not staying in one place long enough for Chen's bullets to get too dense around her.

She whirled around in the air after a wave of bullets skimmed past. This was the last trick she had up her sleeve, and if it didn't work, she was going to lose her first match as a youkai.

If it did, Marisa would be proud of her.

"Light Sign 'Aurora Beam'!" Renko declared, and fired off a massive rainbow laser. It was absolutely an imitation of the infamous Master Spark, but the waves of light that rippled off of it were distinctly different. The energy from Renko's aura that had expanded to give her a sense of the area evaporated to fuel the laser almost immediately.

"Kyaaa!" Chen tried to dive out of the way, and failed completely. Renko dizzily fluttered to the ground. She lifted a hand to her head, and had to use her wings for balance even though she was standing on the flat ground. Chen soon joined her.

"Okay, that was totally a rip-off of Kirisame's… Hey, are you okay? You look pretty pale," Chen said, tilting her head.

"No. I think I overdid it…" Renko shook her head to help clear it.

"Ah… Sorry about that, I didn't realize a short duel like that would use up so much of your energy. You should probably go home and get some rest," Chen said.

Renko nodded.

"I… I think I'll do that. I'll see you around… I mean, this isn't the last time I'm going to come by," she said.

"Alright. I'll see you later!" Chen waved as Renko flapped her wings and took off. She still felt a bit dizzy, and magically exhausted, so she eased off, using as little magic as possible to fuel her flight and relying mostly on her wings to carry her.

* * *

Renko landed on her feet in front of Alice's house, and nearly stumbled. The door swung open, and one of Alice's dolls saluted her as she walked in. That meant Alice was home, and she glanced around, looking for the puppeteer. There was a faint sweet smell in the air.

"Hey, Renko!" Marisa said from one of the chairs. She was grinning despite the fact that her dress was badly tattered, her clothes and hair were singed, she was holding a rag against her bare shoulder, and a thin trickle of blood was running from under the red-soaked rag. Alice was seated next to her with a mix of concern and exasperation on her face.

"E-eh? Marisa, are you okay…?" Renko asked, tucking her wings against her back and walking over.

"I'll be fine, ze. Pissed Patchy off stealing this," Marisa said, and held up a thick book with her free hand. "She didn't mean to knock a bookshelf over on me. She totally meant to set me on fire though."

Renko frowned, not quite reassured, and took a free seat.

"So how'd your trip to Abandoned Catville go? Gonna guess it wasn't too peaceful from your aura," Marisa asked. It took Renko a moment to realize what she meant.

"Um, it was okay. I ran into Chen. She was nice, and we had a duel so I could try and learn more of what I can do now that I'm a youkai. It was fun, and I won, but I'm…" Renko rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "…really tired now. I was thinking of taking a nap."

"Renko, you're very low on spiritual energy, you shouldn't go to sleep," Alice said with a frown.

"Huh…?" Renko blinked a couple times, and tried to sense what Alice was talking about.

It took a moment, but she realized with a jolt that she could barely feel her own aura at all, and it had retracted to almost a fine film of energy over her skin.

"Yeah, that ain't healthy. You should probably…" Marisa frowned and looked over at Alice. "…Uh, Alice, you think she knows about…?"

Alice's frown deepened slightly.

"Probably not. Er… Renko, you're aware that most youkai eat humans, right?" she asked.

Renko caught the implication at once, and stiffened up.

"…Y-you're not… what, do I _have_ to…?" The thought of actually eating a person, like Marisa, or herself only a few days ago, made her squirm uncomfortably in her chair. The fact that it didn't make her as sick to her stomach as she would have expected didn't help at all.

"It's… not necessarily required to live, but it's the best way for a youkai to regain a lot of strength quickly, and there are only a few types of youkai that can completely go without it without being in fairly poor health," Alice said. "Of those, I can only think of rabbits, oni, and youkai magicians. Even some of the more generally benevolent types still need the occasional bit to stay in top condition."

"I-I don't want to eat a human!" Renko's wingtips fluttered anxiously, and she glanced at Marisa in the vain hopes the witch would say something to reassure her.

Marisa studied Renko's despairing face for several seconds.

"Y'don't have to eat a whole person. I've seen how it goes, ze- for some youkai, a bit of blood's enough. If it wasn't for the fact Alice would probably kill me, I'd offer to cut a little piece of the bruised part of my shoulder out for you," Marisa said.

Renko paled and drew her wings up around her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying desperately to pretend that Marisa hadn't just implied-offered to let her eat part of her. That wasn't okay. There was no way that was okay.

Maybe Alice would say something reassuring…

"Actually, that isn't that bad of an idea… I'd rather you not make your injuries worse, but that gives me a better idea," Alice said.

Renko whimpered into her wings. There was a clinking noise from somewhere in the kitchen.

After a minute, something lightly poked Renko's wings. Renko took several deep breaths and parted them just enough to peer out. A blonde doll in a very bright cyan dress, Orleans, was hovering beside her with London a bit further away, holding a teacup. Whatever was in it smelled very sweet, and Renko suddenly had a bad feeling about what the scent from earlier was.

"Please tell me you didn't just fill a teacup with Marisa's blood and offer it to me," Renko said in a shaky, high-pitched tone.

"Sorry, but we just filled a teacup with Marisa's blood and are offering it to you," Alice said.

Renko folded her arms on the table and planted her face into them, letting out a high-pitched noise that sounded like a dog's whine.

"I'm not going to drink Marisa's blood," she said. Even with her face buried in her arms, though, she could still smell the blood. It smelled way better than it had any right to, faintly metallic but sweet in a way that actual sweet things weren't.

"Aww, c'mon, we put it in a teacup just for you. And if you don't drink it while it's fresh, it's going to get all clotted. You don't want to let my blood get all chunky and gross, right?" Marisa poked Renko's side with her broom.

Renko willed herself halfheartedly to feel sickened by the idea, but couldn't actually make herself, not with the scent of blood in her nose. It was starting to make her feel hungry.

"Renko, please, we just want to help you, and while I know it's not easy… you're a youkai, this is part of your nature now," Alice said. "Once every so often, human-eating youkai get a delivery of a ration of human appropriate for the energy they use. You don't want to be freaking out when you're weak and you need it…"

There were a few solid minutes of silence.

Renko quietly sat up, wings drooping in defeat behind her. "…and _this_ is what she wanted for me… Yukari eats humans too, doesn't she…?"

"Absolutely," Marisa said.

Renko wordlessly took the teacup of blood. The surface had started to clot over, and she cringed a bit, poking at it with a fingertip. It broke up with a few small jabs. If Merry could get so used to humans being food that she didn't even consider it a problem when she'd decided Renko should be a youkai too, she supposed that drinking a teacup of freely-given blood from a human who wanted to help and had already been bleeding wasn't even morally questionable.

She tried not to think about it much harder, and closed her eyes as she took a sip.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

This one's a bit long. But, we're quickly approaching the final arc of the story. I'd say there's going to be one more intermission before we get into the home stretch.


	15. Intermission 3 - Satori Komeiji

Chapter 15: Intermission 3 - Satori Komeiji

* * *

Satori glared at the defeated bridge princess. There wasn't much else to do as she waited patiently by the bridge, not after Parsee had challenged her to a round of danmaku just for setting foot near her. The constant current of envious thoughts were annoying, but evenly-paced and subtle enough that Satori could easily filter them out of her perception. Parsee crossed her arms and huffed, acting as though Satori weren't there even as she internally lamented her inability to match Satori's strength.

Satori looked up, sensing a wild, energetic cheerful thought from the other side of the bridge. Just as she expected, Marisa rocketed into view on her broom a moment later. The witch had a huge grin on her face, a bag slung over one shoulder, and a lantern hanging from the end of her broom. Satori sensed her intent, and held still, allowing Marisa to skim past and pull her up onto the broom in a quick motion.

"Hello, Marisa," Satori said with a smile, settling in comfortably on the broom behind Marisa.

 _Hey, Satori! I have a really cool book and I want to talk to you about something I wanna do and I'm so happy to be flying around and…_

Satori chuckled quietly, listening to her thoughts flow seamlessly between everything she was excited about. Unlike Parsee, who had been thinking a mantra of envy and hate, Marisa's thoughts were just like her speech, only without the hesitation that came with speaking aloud and without her silly verbal tic.

 _…and your hair smells nicer than usual, did you wash it differently?_

Satori giggled sheepishly.

"Ah, yes. I decided to try the berry-scented conditioner you brought from Kourindou. It's a little distracting, since my sense of smell is better than a human's, but nice," she said.

"Sorry, eheh." Marisa brought her broom gliding to a stop in front of the Palace of Earth Spirits. Satori carefully got off, and Marisa followed.

"No, it's fine, really. Anyways, your thoughts kept dancing around something you want to do, but that you want my approval of first. And you're thirsty, so let's have some tea while we talk, okay?" Satori let a warm smile grace her lips as Marisa's thoughts lit up with cheery approval the instant before she nodded. Satori pushed the door open, and Marisa practically skipped through, the lamp on her broom swaying with each step.

* * *

"…And you're sure about this?" Satori asked, tilting her head just slightly. A half-empty cup of tea rested in her hands, and Marisa had taken off her hat and rested it on her lap.

 _Yeah. I'm going to have to set up some rituals in advance, and the final product, I can do there, so… if you're not going to object, yes, I'm sure_. Marisa took a large bite out of a cookie. _This is really good, who made these?_

"I did. There was a cookbook in my last shipment, and I got Okuu to convince the Moriya Shrine to send some flour and other supplies I needed," Satori said.

 _Huh. You could almost beat Remi's maid at this,_ Marisa thought, appreciating the sweet flavors. Satori giggled.

"Anyways, I do approve. Assuming your plan works out as you say it will, I don't see any reason I wouldn't be okay with it," Satori said, giving a small nod. She hadn't thought Marisa would plan something like this, but after what she'd been through with her serious injury, maybe she'd changed, just a bit.

"Great!" Marisa smiled, as the idle thought that Satori's approval really was important to her flitted through her mind.

Satori took a sip of her tea before addressing the curious notion.

"Ah, Marisa, is my approval really that important to you…?" Satori asked.

 _Of course!_ The sheer sincerity of Marisa's thoughts surprised the youkai, and she set her tea down slowly, unsure of how to react. She stayed quiet and let Marisa speak, even with the echo between her thoughts and voice.

"Satori, we've been really close friends ever since I came to visit after the incident down here. And apparently, if it hadn't been for you, I'd be way worse off after that head injury. There's a reason I bother coming all the way down here to see you, ze, even though I have friends on the surface if just chilling with friends was all there was to it…"

"I… I'm touched, Marisa. I'm not that important to most people…" Satori smiled shyly, and almost missed a sudden impulse flicker through Marisa's mind. She froze in surprise, and that was all the opportunity Marisa needed to suddenly get up and step over to her.

As Marisa leaned in and pressed her lips against Satori's, Satori wondered just when Marisa had started feeling this way about her. She quickly decided it didn't matter—even if she hadn't seen it before, maybe she was just bad at recognizing the signs, and she'd still managed to put it back in her head. And thinking too hard would keep her from appreciating the soft texture of the witch's lips, the way she smelled just a bit like chemical dust and something wonderfully sweet, and Marisa's own blissful thoughts when she copied the witch's technique and kissed her back.

After what felt simultaneously like forever, and not nearly long enough, Marisa drew back and took a couple deep breaths.

"Well, you're really important to me, ze. I've had a bit of a thing for you for a while…" she said.

"You, ah. Just made that abundantly clear." Satori blushed as she spoke. She wasn't quite sure what to do, but she trusted Marisa. And when faced with such sincerely romantic thoughts from someone she cared for as much as Marisa, it was useless trying to do anything but reciprocate.

She quickly spoke up when she saw uncertainty start to cloud Marisa's mind.

"…Yes, it's welcome. I can't say I have very much experience on the matter—oh, you have some? That's certainly helpful," Satori said. "So, er. You love me. It's mutual. What now…?"

Marisa's next thoughts made Satori blush so intensely that the skin around her third eye took on a deeper red tone.

"Eh? M-Marisa, we haven't even gone on a date or anything… no, I trust you… h-hey, that's cheating! Yes, it's effective cheating, but you cut that out…"

* * *

 _Lady Satori? Is this a bad time? You don't normally lock your door._

Satori didn't bother to open her eyes—her third eye was already open, and picking up her pet kasha's mind from just outside her room. Rather than get up, she quietly reached out and formed a telepathic link.

 _It's not the best time. What is it?_

 _Oh, I was wondering if you had any plans for dinner. And if you wanted me an' Chie to take care of it, should we fix extra for Kirisame? I noticed her broom's still in your study._

Satori's third eye tilted just slightly, catching a glimpse of blonde hair and half-awake contented thoughts beside her.

 _I'd appreciate it if you two would handle it. I'm quite comfortable right now and don't particularly feel like cooking. And yes, I believe she'll be staying for dinner._

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

If any of you expected this I'm going to be really surprised. Really though, Satori and her sister's situations are so depressing in canon, so by the end of this fanfic, I wanted to have Satori in a healthy relationship and Koishi in a better situation. This makes one out of two. And I didn't want to have to pick between the typical Marisa ships when I see her relationship with Alice as best buddies, with Reimu as more sisterly, and with Patchouli as a friendly rivalry.

Plus, Marisa totally took one look at Satori's eye tendril things and, on realizing they are movable, you _know_ her mind went places.


	16. Spring, Part 3

Chapter 16: Spring, Part 3

* * *

"What are you doing." Alice frowned as she watched Marisa organize several small vials around the glowing purple orb she had found a few days earlier. It had taken Marisa a few days to get all the materials listed in the book she'd stolen.

"I told you, it's gonna be a surprise," Marisa said.

"And this requires us to be here of all places because…?" Alice gestured at the mouth of the cavern that led underground with one eyebrow raised. Marisa had set up a few workbenches in the entrance to the underground. Satori was sitting on a rock inside, being very careful to not come too close to the actual boundary.

"I wanted you guys and Satori here. That so much of a big deal?" Marisa sprinkled some powder into one of the vials.

"Liar. I guess it would be mean to ruin the surprise, though," Satori said, scowling. She glanced over at Renko. "Hello, Renko. I like your wings. They're very shiny—yes, just like when we met, I'm glad you remembered. No, I don't want to ruin Marisa's surprise, even if she is a big fat liar and deserves it. Reimu already knows what it is, but she's the only one besides me."

"I'm not fat, ze!" Marisa protested.

Renko giggled. She and Alice were sitting on a log, with a tea tray being manned by Shanghai and Hourai, and for some reason, Reimu was seated on the grass on one end of the clearing around the cave. She was pointedly glaring at Mima, across the clearing, who was just as pointedly ignoring the shrine maiden.

"Renko agrees with you, she thinks you're a very appropriate weight for your height. Alice just imagined you actually fat, and it's an amusing image," Satori said.

Renko started imagining an overly-inflated fat Marisa trying to balance on her broom, and burst into giggles. Alice sighed and rolled her eyes, and Hourai refilled her teacup.

"Renko's is funnier," Satori added. Marisa snorted and went back to her work.

"Okay, hm… just need a pinch of this…" Marisa added a pinch of powder to a large crystal bowl on the workbench, and then started to pour bits of liquids from the various vials into it. Multicolored sparks flew out of the bowl on the third addition.

"Hey, Satori," Marisa started.

"Why in the hells is a satori's eyelash one of the ingredients? That seems horribly impractical—oh, that actually makes some sense. Alright, alright…" Satori stood up and walked over. She plucked one eyelash from her third eye, visibly wincing in pain as she did, and then handed it to Marisa before returning to her seat.

After several more minutes of mixing things, Marisa took the purple stone sphere, and held it over the bowl. The crystal glowed purple, resonating with magical energy, and the liquid within the bowl turned perfectly clear, like fresh spring water.

"Alright, I think I'm done!" Marisa said, and tossed the purple stone to Reimu. "A deal's a deal, ze. All yours, and you're letting me do this."

"Yeah," Reimu said, catching the stone in one hand before stowing it in her sleeve.

"So," Marisa started. "I've been tossing around the idea of becoming a youkai magician for a while. I never really wanted to go through with it, 'cause I like being a human, but nearly gettin' killed by one of my own friends made me reconsider. I asked Reimu, didn't want to go through with it only to get exterminated. She said as long as I gave her at least a few of my things I could potentially use to start an incident, she trusts me not to screw up too bad and said I'm not really part of the village anyways."

Renko blinked a few times. Marisa… well, she was a very youkai-like person anyways. And magician youkai didn't have to eat people. (She still wasn't quite over the fact that she had sipped human blood out of a teacup, but she was coping by not thinking about it.) And hopefully this would stop Renko from catching herself fantasizing about eating Marisa. (Every time that happened, she wanted to cry.) But…

"But I don't wanna be unable to visit Satori…" Marisa looked over at the mind-reader.

"This has everything to do with the fact that we're dating," Satori said casually.

Alice choked on her tea.

"What?! Marisa! W-When were you planning to tell me?!" Alice said, coughing every few words from the tea she'd inhaled.

"Eheh…" Marisa scratched the back of her head.

"She wasn't going to until she found a better way to say it than 'Hey Alice, you know that satori who lives in that big palace underground? We've been kinda maybe sorta sleeping together lately, ze.' And I don't particularly blame her for wanting to be more tactful, but at the same time I'm not exactly one for secrets," Satori said with a completely straight face.

Marisa's face flushed almost as red as Reimu's dress.

"Anyways! Uh, we can talk about my love life later. This potion should turn me into a youkai magician with a few small traits from other types, ze," the witch said, waving one arm in the air. Alice took several deep breaths to try and regain her composure, while Renko shot Marisa a sympathetic glance.

"So how are you going to get around the treaty and be able to spend time aboveground and with Komeiji?" Mima asked.

"Simple, ze. I'm gonna drink it while standing halfway across the border of the underground and surface, so I'm half a surface youkai and half an underground youkai!" Marisa's grin was huge, and her blush was quickly fading.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Reimu muttered.

"That's brilliant," Alice said. "There's no precedent, as far as I'm aware, so you should actually be able to get away with it."

"Haha, that's what I was thinking! And you guys shouldn't have to worry about me getting myself seriously hurt again. I should regenerate as well as Satori after this. Right, I'm going to do this thing. Let's hope I got it all right!"

Marisa picked up the crystal bowl in one hand, and with her other, waved her hand in the air, pulling on the magic energy. The magically-marked border between the surface and underground became suddenly visible, with a hazy blue soap-bubble barrier stretching through the cave entrance. Marisa carefully adjusted her position until she was standing as exactly across the barrier as she could, and then, with what might have been a moment's apprehension, she lifted the crystal bowl to her lips and drank the potion in two gulps.

A sense of tangible magic filled the air, and Marisa wobbled a bit, the bowl falling from her hands. Renko could feel the energy around her shift slightly, as if the magic of Gensokyo was adjusting to accommodate a change in the presences within it. It had taken practice to notice the differences between a magician youkai's aura and a human's, and Renko paid careful attention to the sense of Marisa's aura. The sensation suddenly shifted, almost as if the humanity was melting out of her aura and the cracks were being filled in with pure magic.

Marisa winced and took a deep breath, putting one hand on her workbench for balance.

"Oh jeez. That's a lot of energy. I… feel like I should recognize this feeling, ze, but…" Marisa frowned, and slid her fingers under her hair and hat. "Alice, how was it for you?"

"Disorienting, a bit spiritually painful," Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Right. Sounds about right." Marisa smiled shakily, and stayed where she was, taking slow, deep breaths. It wasn't long before the change in her aura was complete, and the shift in the air's magic stopped, settling into normalcy again.

Marisa lowered her hand, and looked up at Satori, then at the others. Renko didn't miss the subtle shift in eye color—her eyes had been a darker ambery gold, and had brightened to a more striking yellow-gold.

"…I think it's done," Marisa said. She experimentally flexed her fingers. "Magic feels a lot different, but otherwise I'm pretty alright."

"Mm. Looks like we're down a human. Don't you dare tell anyone I just up and let you turn yourself into a youkai, Marisa," Reimu said. She almost sounded sad.

"Aww, Reimu, I ain't going anywhere just because I'm a youkai. I'll still come with you on incident missions, and I'll still get my butt kicked anytime I don't manage to land a Master Spark when we spar," Marisa said, grinning. Reimu chuckled softly.

"Alright, alright. And you still better come over sometimes. You can even bring your creepy girlfriend when she's allowed up here," Reimu said.

"I'd object to that, but it's pretty hard to deny being creepy when I'm a 'weird tentacle-eye mind-reader'," Satori chimed in. Reimu shot her a glare, and she started giggling.

"Anyways, I guess this is the sort of thing that'd be worth having a party over. So I bought a bunch of sake and hid it in Reimu's garden shed, ze! Satori, I'll come by tonight to hang out, since you can't come," Marisa said.

"You hid sake in my garden shed?" Reimu asked, staring incredulously.

"Okay. Love you too, Marisa," Satori said. Marisa blushed and hastily gathered up her things.

"Last one to the Hakurei shrine's a rotten egg!" she said as soon as she'd packed everything up. She hopped on her broom and took off, and Reimu and Mima zipped after her. Renko unfurled her wings and took off, and Alice joined her after sending her dolls carefully flying off with her tea set.

"Sometimes," Alice said as she trailed after Renko, "it bothers me that I chose to develop my precision over my speed when it comes to flight. Then Marisa runs into bullets because she was going too fast, and I laugh."

Renko giggled and watched as Mima and Marisa raced ahead, each trying to outspeed the other, and Reimu flew just behind. She couldn't hope to catch up to them, but she could finally keep pace with Alice without straining herself.

"It's hard to enjoy the scenery when you're trying to go that fast, anyways," Renko said.

"Of course." Alice went quiet, and Renko didn't complain. They could just enjoy the flight to the shrine, and enjoy the inevitable party once they arrived.

* * *

"So then she touched my butt, and I'm pretty sure it was an accident," Reimu said, words just slightly slurred with all the sake she'd been drinking. Renko had kept her drinking to a minimum, particularly with the memories of strip Mario Kart fresh in her head, but she was the only one. Even Alice had relaxed. At some point, Suika had turned up, and the oni was making sure everyone's sake dishes stayed full.

"It was," Marisa chimed in.

"But because it's Marisa we're talking about, she actually grabbed my butt and yelled 'Honk!' I mean, who even does that?" Reimu glared over her drink at the witch.

"Had to pretend it was on purpose, ya know!" Marisa burst into giggles, and Mima grinned.

"You make me proud, Marisa," she said.

Renko smiled, and went for a carefully measured sip of her drink when suddenly there was motion from the doorway. All eyes turned to see Yukari standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve.

"Sorry to interrupt your little party," Yukari said. She sounded only half-awake, and opened a violet rift in space and sat on it as if it were a chair.

"What are you doing up and around during the day, Yakumo?" Mima asked, watching her carefully.

"Ah…" Yukari yawned. "I thought I would let Reimu know that I was woken up by a boundary disruption. This may be an incident, and if the Hakurei Border is being tampered with, it's a more serious one than usual."

Reimu groaned.

"Ugh, just what I needed. Alright, alright, I'll look into it first thing tomorrow," she said. Suika offered Yukari a dish of sake, which she contemplated for a moment before accepting.

"Good, good. I don't think I'll be getting back to sleep after that, so I think I'll stick around." Yukari lowered her gap over by the table, and the chatter quickly resumed. Renko stared uncomfortably at her drink for a bit, until she felt something against her shoulder.

Renko looked up to see that Yukari was holding a small cloth pouch up to her.

"It's from Chen," Yukari said in explanation. Renko nodded, and took it.

"Um, thank you…" Renko quietly tucked it away, and glanced around. Mima was laughing about something with Marisa and Suika, while Alice had apparently persuaded Reimu to let her braid her hair.

"You're being awfully quiet," Yukari commented.

Renko frowned at her drink.

"…Yukari, would you mind stepping outside with me for a minute? I want to talk," Renko said. Yukari tilted her head slightly, but half-shrugged and nodded. Marisa and Alice glanced their way, but nobody said anything as the two youkai quietly went outside.

"So, what is it?" Yukari asked once the two were just outside the shrine.

"Merry, you didn't tell me I'd have to eat humans, and I don't _want_ to be okay with it. Did you just not think about that when you decided I should be a youkai?" Renko fluttered her wings anxiously. Yukari's expression softened.

"It wasn't the foremost thing in my mind, I'll admit…" Yukari sighed. "Renko, different youkai have different levels of instincts and needs for eating humans. I have the misfortune of having fairly strong instincts in that regard. I'll admit, it was a bit of a selfish motive, but I'd rather have you be upset with me for it, but be _safe_ around me, than risk any harm to my dear friend."

Renko blinked a few times and her wings quivered slightly. Merry did this to protect her… from her own instincts. Renko knew she didn't have particularly strong instincts urging her to eat people, considering she only started to think about it when she was particularly hungry or exposed to the scent of blood. The thought that her best friend could have had more powerful urges to eat her…

…well, she could start to understand why Yukari had decided she needed to do this.

"…I am upset with you, Merry. I'm not going to pretend it's just okay…" Renko sighed. "But I can… sort of understand. And at least I don't really feel like eating people a lot. Seriously, though, if you'd just asked me first and explained all this, I really wouldn't be as upset, and I think I would have said yes."

"Well, even youkai of my age make mistakes. I don't often admit to my mistakes—I have a reputation to uphold. But with you, I can acknowledge that you're right, and I should have been more considerate," Yukari said. She smiled apologetically, and her shoulders slumped just slightly.

Renko nodded, satisfied with this.

"Well, Merry, I'm not going to pretend I'm not still bothered. I'm going to need some time to learn to cope with the whole… wanting to eat people thing. But I'm glad you admitted that my feelings are important too, and… well, I still have the key you gave me. When I feel comfortable enough, I'll come over to visit," she said.

"It would be unfair to ask more of you right now. For the time being, why don't we go back inside and just enjoy some time with friends?" Yukari offered.

"That sounds nice." Renko smiled, and followed Yukari back into the shrine just in time to see Marisa accidentally knock over Suika's sake gourd, and dive in time to catch it before anything spilled on the floor.

* * *

A couple days had passed since Yukari had turned up at the shrine, and Marisa had become a youkai. Renko glided down to the clearing that marked Mima's home. The vengeful spirit was waiting for her with a pleasant smile.

"Hello, Renko. We're going on a field trip today," she said.

Renko's ears perked up curiously.

"A field trip? Where to this time?"

"It's a surprise," Mima said, winking. Renko sighed faintly. If Mima was going to dance around it and not tell her, she'd just wait instead of giving Mima the satisfaction of making her beg.

"Alright then…" Renko waited for Mima to start flying, and took off after her. She watched the sky as they flew, carefully noting their direction. She'd never been this way before… southeast of the mountain, east of the human village…

After a while of flying, during which Renko quietly practiced manipulating a sphere of light magic in her hands, the trees below thinned out, and finally gave way to a large open field. Near the back of the field, a large building nearly blended into the hillside, and a large glass greenhouse took up nearly half as much space. The buds of the earliest spring plants were starting to push their way up through the ground, and several winter flowers dotted the field.

"Where are we, Lady Mima?" Renko asked, dispelling the ball of light magic.

"This is the Garden of the Sun. We're here to meet my other former apprentice," Mima said. Renko tilted her head slightly and glided down towards the greenhouse after her mentor. She landed carefully on one of the stepping stones, and Mima floated forwards and tapped lightly on the glass door.

Renko sensed a powerful presence before the green-haired woman even came into view. Her aura was deliberately cultivated to give an impression of the wild power of nature, despite her pleasant, mild appearance. Her red eyes were incredibly sharp, and Renko's ears tilted back slightly as the youkai woman looked her over and opened the door.

"Hello, Mima. It's lovely to see you," she said in a serene voice as she stepped forwards and greeted the spirit with a handshake. Her red plaid skirt swished as she turned to look at Renko. "Who's this? A new apprentice?"

"Good afternoon, Yuuka. Yes, this is Renko Usami. She's been learning very quickly, and I think she's ready to learn our signature technique. She already managed an imitation of it against Chen," Mima said.

Yuuka Kazami smiled pleasantly.

"I see. Well, I'm still watering the plants. Usami, was it?" Yuuka looked at Renko.

"Y-yes." Renko made eye contact for a moment, then glanced down.

"Come in, and take this." Yuuka held the door open, and Mima and Renko stepped inside. Yuuka closed the door, and then gently but firmly pressed a watering can into Renko's hands.

Renko glanced at it curiously.

"Water everything along the back wall there, until you see water in the trays below the pots. There's a water pump in that corner when you run out. I'll be along this row," Yuuka said, gesturing to each location as she spoke. She elegantly turned, picked up a second watering can, and walked off.

Renko blinked a few times, and looked up at Mima.

"Best to do what she asks," Mima said with a shrug. "And _don't_ harm the plants. I like having you around."

Renko sighed, and obediently walked over. She delicately watered a spindly white flower, paying close attention to the trays underneath the pot. Most of the plants along the wall were unfamiliar flowers and carefully-pruned bonsai trees, and Renko couldn't help but smile as she watered them, even sniffing a few of the flowers while she went. She had to stop to refill the watering can a few times, and by the time she reached the end of the row, she had a relaxed smile on her face despite the fact she could still feel Yuuka's intimidating aura.

"Wonderful timing, I've just finished the rest of the plants," Yuuka said, and Renko nearly jumped. When had she gotten right there behind her? Yuuka chuckled, and took the watering can back.

"Come along, then." Yuuka walked off, and Renko followed her out of the greenhouse. Mima joined them as they entered the larger building through a side door. More potted plants adorned every windowsill and table, and Renko admired a particularly colorful cactus as they passed by.

Soon, they stopped in a sitting room with very large windows, overlooking the field. Several potted vines had intertwined themselves with much of the furniture, and Yuuka took a seat on a sunny orange Western-style sofa. Mima formed her misty tail into legs and quickly occupied one of the chairs, and Renko followed suit.

"So… Mima thinks you're ready to learn the Master Spark, hm? I suppose Marisa felt about as strong when she learned. How much do you know about that spell?" Yuuka asked.

"Um… I know it's a really big laser, and that Marisa knows it…" Renko took a moment to think. "…And that, given context, you and Lady Mima must too."

Yuuka giggled.

"I see. Well, you aren't wrong. It's a channeling of the caster's internal energy, synchronized to the purest form of their most innate school of magic. When Marisa uses it, it's based in love magic, while Mima uses it as dark magic. I'm actually the one who first developed it—and it's based in dream magic when I use it," she said. Renko nodded, considering this. She was fairly sure she'd end up using it as light or space magic.

"You've seen Marisa's version, but you haven't seen any others. That's alright, though, that should be all you need to pull it off, as far as demonstrations go," Mima said. Yuuka nodded in agreement.

"Now… I'll tell you how to actually perform it. You shouldn't be able to actually pull it off immediately, and you'll see why." Yuuka closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts.

"The first part of performing the Spark is simply focusing your mind on the intent, and tapping into your personal magic. Then, you'll need to say the incantation that allows you to directly channel it. In order for that step to work, you'll need to actually know what school of magic you're channeling from and be in touch with your identity and aura. Then, you declare your version and direct the flow of energy outwards. It's… both much more simple and difficult than you would think, isn't it?"

"Um… I guess?" Renko tilted her head. It seemed a bit strange compared to some of the spells she'd learned from Mima, but at the same time, it intrigued her. Yuuka gestured to Renko for her to come over. She anxiously flicked one ear, but didn't feel safe disobeying the clearly powerful youkai. She stood and approached. Yuuka rose to her feet, and quietly whispered the incantation in Renko's ear. She understood why at once—the words carried an incredible weight and power, even though she couldn't understand their meaning.

"Now, just for fun, why don't you give it a try?" Yuuka said.

"Um… okay," Renko said. Yuuka smiled pleasantly, and took a minute to open the large windows.

"Just in case you do manage it, I'd rather you not mess up my house," Yuuka said in explanation. Renko nodded, and closed her eyes.

She focused her thoughts and will on her own inner magic. Like her aura, it almost reminded her of a cool brightness, what she imagined it might feel like to be bathed in starlight.

Of course. As an Elux Lucis, she was a creature of light, but her ability had always tied her to the stars, and space magic had come to her more readily at first. She wondered just what a star magic laser would look like, and eager to learn, she whispered the incantation to herself. Saying it louder just didn't feel right.

A surge of magical energy ran through Renko at the words, and she struggled to direct the intense power, but before she could actually declare the spell, the flow slipped away from her. She frowned, disappointed, and looked up.

Mima and Yuuka applauded quietly.

"You might not have managed it, but you were quite close. I think if you spend some time meditating on your inner magic, you'll be able to pull it off before too long," Mima said, grinning.

"Yes, I'd agree. Now that you understand the theory, it's a matter of time, will, and practice." Yuuka hummed thoughtfully for a moment, and the intimidating pressure of her aura suddenly increased. "…I hope you two weren't planning on staying around too long, though. I ought to check on Elly."

"No, no, I appreciate your help, Yuuka, and I'll see you around sometime!" Sensing danger, Mima quickly grabbed Renko's hand and took off through the open window. Renko let out a startled yelp, but didn't resist, and she could swear she heard Yuuka laughing as they went.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

I don't like the interpretations of Yuuka as a maniacal sadist. I like interpretations where she doesn't want to put up with anyone's crap, and she's certainly very dangerous and cultivates this impression, but as long as you don't cause her trouble, you're relatively safe. But yeah... incoming incident, and trust me, Renko absolutely will get more involved.


	17. Spring, Part 4

Chapter 17: Spring, Part 4

* * *

"Meemz! Renko!" Marisa called as she swooped down from the sky, Reimu close behind her. Renko looked up from the magical text she was reading on Mima's porch.

"Hi, Marisa," Renko said. Mima glided out to join them as the magician and shrine maiden landed.

"Good evening, you two. How goes the incident?" Mima asked.

"It's a damn mess, is what it is," Reimu said, scowling. "So that purple orb Marisa found? There are more like it, it seems like everyone who's found one has decided to make a mess—"

"The Moriya Shrine's bright fuchsia now, and you should have seen what Nue and Mamizou did to Sanae's hair," Marisa cut in.

"—and some idiot from the outside world is using them to drag youkai outside the border temporarily, just for the hell of it," Reimu finished.

"Ah my, that does sound quite troublesome," Mima said, looking far too amused for her words. She quickly straightened up when Reimu twirled her gohei and gave her a sharp look. Reimu rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, Mima, we're thinking of collecting these orbs and giving them to someone who'll actually teach this brat a lesson about messing with Gensokyo. We'd ask Yukari, but you know how much of a pain it is to get ahold of her," Reimu said.

"Of course." Mima nodded.

"And we'd ask Yuuka, but bratty outsider or not, we don't want to be responsible for that much of a mess, ze," Marisa said. Renko shivered slightly, now that she actually understood how intimidating Yuuka was. That did seem cruel.

"So you'd like me to show her why we aren't to be trifled with, then." Mima glanced at Reimu and Marisa, who nodded. "…Very well, but you'll owe me."

Reimu rolled her eyes.

"Renko, study your runes while I'm away," Mima said. Renko nodded, and watched as her mentor and friends flew off. Marisa waved as they left, and Renko returned the gesture with a wing. She'd gotten so used to them already that sometimes when she was walking she would hold her bag with one of her wing's thumb claws to free up her hands, and if there was space, she preferred to wave with one instead of a hand.

The book on runic magic was actually quite interesting, and Renko continued reading as if Mima hadn't left. She was so absorbed in trying to figure out how to make protective enchantments for the mail bags that not even her subconscious mind noticed the movement of an oddly familiar figure.

The silence was suddenly broken by a buzzing and loud music. Renko screamed and flailed, almost flinging the book, before she recognized it as her ringtone.

From her cellphone.

Which had been dead for about a month.

Renko quickly pulled the phone out of her bag, completely confused as to who could possibly be calling her and how. There was no caller ID. One of her ears flicked idly in annoyance, and she answered it just to see what was going on.

"Hello?"

"Hiiiii. I'm right behind you~" the voice on the other end of the line said. Renko frowned. That voice sounded oddly familiar.

"…But I'm sitting against a wall," Renko said, glancing over her shoulder at the wall of Mima's house.

"Aww, why do you have to ruin it?" Koishi said, hanging up the cellphone in her hand. She was standing right beside Renko. Renko yelped and jumped, and hastily pocketed her phone.

"Oh sh—I remember you, why… What do you want?!" Renko scrambled away several steps. Koishi was dangerous, she was sure of it.

"Yay, you were scared!" Koishi cheered. Renko reflexively let out an irritated hiss and tilted her ears back. She wasn't a human, what right did other youkai have to try and scare her—

Before Renko could be slightly distressed that she was thinking that way when she really hadn't been a youkai very long, Koishi tilted her head and grinned.

"Oh. You don't like me." Koishi's grin widened to an impossible width. "That's okay. Fight me~"

"Uh—" Renko remembered how badly that had gone last time.

"Three cards each, and if I win, I get one of your shiny feathers! They're pretty, I want one to put in Mr. Hat," Koishi said.

Renko fluttered her wings uncomfortably, looking Koishi over and trying to determine just how awful this would be.

That was when her gaze landed on the other youkai's third eye. So that was why Satori's eye had looked familiar. She _had_ seen something like it before. But Koishi's was stitched shut. The dark blue thread matched the color of the eyelids so well, she had almost missed it, but the eyelid twitched once against the thread as she watched, and she could almost swear she saw the tiniest hint of green behind it.

She was reasonably sure that wasn't healthy or okay, and that the eye was struggling to free itself.

"…Uhm. Okay, and if I win, you'll let me touch your third eye," Renko said.

Koishi visibly hesitated.

"I promise I won't try and damage it," Renko quickly added.

"Okay!" Koishi perked back up as if nothing had happened. "Readysetgo! Symbol 'Ancestors Standing Beside Your Bed'!"

And Renko immediately yelped and took off to avoid the waves of red bullets. Koishi giggled and trailed after her, firing an aimed stream of larger bullets that Renko had to duck to avoid.

Renko quickly considered what spell to declare, and settled on one almost immediately. This was one she'd inspired off her background in physics. She also quietly forced her aura to expand like she'd done in her duel with Chen so she could dodge more easily.

"Super-Unified Physics 'Particle Accelerator'!" Renko conjured lines of tiny blue bullets behind her as she flew, taking a wide, sweeping path around Koishi. She ducked around several large, blue wave-like bullets and kept moving, as her own started to swirl in towards Koishi, speeding up drastically as they got close.

Koishi easily avoided the bullets on their first pass, but as they sped back out, several of Renko's bullets were on a collision course with each other. And when they hit, each one fractured into a fast-moving spray of much smaller bullets. Renko didn't even know how many there were or where they were going—they were completely random.

After a tense moment of narrowly zipping between Koishi's bullets, the spray of tiny bullets from Renko's spellcard had gotten too dense, and Koishi flinched and stopped firing. Renko paused to hover in place, and sighed in relief. She was going to have to pace herself carefully.

"Instinct 'Release of the Id'!" Koishi declared, and Renko quickly got moving again. This time, Koishi was firing a dense, spirograph-like pattern of… large heart-shaped bullets? Renko glanced at one oddly, but decided not to judge too hard.

Plus, she had better things to do- namely, concentrating on dodging them.

It was hard to monitor their exact positions, though, and one struck Renko's wing before too long. Renko hissed in pain and quickly declared her next spell.

This one, Mima and Marisa had taught her, and she thought it was great fun. She'd even put her own little twist on it.

"Magic Sign 'Stardust Reverie'!"

Koishi soon found herself boxed in by the chaotic, kaleidoscope-esque swirling of hundreds of brilliantly-colored star bullets. While she was easily dodging it, Renko silently counted down from ten as she carefully darted between Koishi's bullets.

On zero, several of the star bullets suddenly turned black with red borders and fell out of formation, zipping directly at Koishi. The third one struck true, and Koishi pouted.

"Hey! That's not what Stardust Reverie does!" Koishi said.

"It's what my Stardust Reverie does!" Renko flapped her wings a few times.

Koishi stared blankly at Renko, before declaring her last spell card.

"Cursed Drop-And-Dial Phone!" And with that, Koishi suddenly vanished. Renko fluttered her wings, looking around. Her phone suddenly started to ring, and her instincts told her to move. She zipped forwards, and Koishi appeared right where she had been and fired out a short-range wave of bullets that certainly would have hit Renko if she'd stayed in place. Before Renko could start firing back, she vanished again, and Renko's phone stopped ringing.

It reminded Renko a lot of a stupid urban legend she'd heard in highschool, and she rolled her eyes and prepared her magic.

"Light Sign 'Aurora Beam'," Renko declared calmly. Her phone started to ring again, and she zipped away, but immediately turned and fired off a moderately-sized rainbow laser. Koishi yelped and tried to dart out of the way, but failed.

"…You know, if you'd done more like those first two, you probably would have won," Renko commented, dispelling her magic. Koishi pouted again.

"Your subconscious doesn't give enough hints, you think too hard about stuff and don't act on instinct," Koishi complained. Renko raised an eyebrow, but cautiously approached. Koishi let her, and Renko carefully examined her third eye. The thread had loosened on one end, and bits of tugging had worn down the scars around the stitches. If she could just cut off one of the knots, she was fairly sure she could pull the rest of the thread out in one go.

"I sewed it shut 'cause I was tired of all the voices that hated me," Koishi said. Renko blinked several times.

"…Wouldn't that, uh, hurt?" Renko asked. She reached into her bag and pulled out a nail clipper she'd brought with her.

Koishi shrugged, as blank as ever. Renko carefully reached out and took Koishi's third eye in one hand. The skin was almost velvety, very soft and delicate. Koishi fidgeted almost anxiously.

Renko flipped the nail clippers to their usable position, and snipped through the thread. Almost immediately, the eye twitched again, and the thread started to pull loose.

"H-hey, what are—" Koishi started, a bit of honest fear creeping into her tone.

"Helping, hopefully." And with that, Renko pulled the thread free. Koishi almost immediately went limp and started to fall as her third eye slowly fluttered open. Renko caught her, and looked down at the youkai girl in her arms as she hovered in place.

Koishi's third eye looked almost as blank and hollow as Koishi's expression had been, but it was open, and started to look just slightly more focused as it tilted to look at Renko.

Hadn't Akyuu said that Koishi had the same last name as Satori, actually? Maybe they were related. Renko took off flying in the direction of the underground. She couldn't just hover outside of Mima's house with an unconscious underground youkai all day, after all.

* * *

Renko lightly landed outside the cavern leading underground. It was open, but she couldn't see anyone around. Koishi hadn't woken up, and Renko hoped desperately that she hadn't inadvertently seriously hurt the little satori. As creepy as she'd been, if she was important to Satori she'd feel horrible if there was lasting harm because of an impulsive choice of hers.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Renko called into the darkness.

Her voice echoed into the cave, and for a few minutes, there was nothing.

Quite suddenly, though, a bucket dropped from the ceiling of the cave, and the upper half of a green-haired girl in a white top popped out.

"Heeeey! Were you wanting to send a message to someone in the underground? You can do that now, thanks to Kisume's Super-Special Tsurube-Otoshi Courier System!" the girl said, practically radiating confidence.

"…Um… Yeah, actually," Renko said. The bucket girl seemed odd, but she supposed it wouldn't hurt.

"GREAT!" Kisume disappeared into the bucket, and resurfaced with a pen and notepad in hand. "Okay, who's this addressed to?"

"Satori Komeiji," Renko said.

"Aaaand what's the message?" Kisume started scribbling on her notepad.

"Um, 'Hi Satori, this is from Renko, I think I have a relative of yours and you should maybe come get her'," Renko said.

"Sheesh, you sure don't sound too sure of yourself. Kay, that'll be five yen to deliver," Kisume said, nodding to herself. Renko gently set Koishi down in the grass and fished out her coin purse. Once Kisume had her money, she disappeared into the bucket, which was quickly hoisted up out of sight somehow. Renko stared for several seconds, before sighing and sitting down next to Koishi.

"…There goes my quiet afternoon of studying," she said to nobody in particular.

* * *

Renko had been expecting Kisume to return with a message, but after a while of waiting, after the sun had started to go down, there had been no word from her. Right about then, Koishi made a muffled noise, and reached up to rub her eyes. Renko froze up, not sure what to expect, and watched as Koishi sat up, glancing down at her third eye and blinking in confusion.

She glanced at Renko next, and Renko couldn't help but notice that rather than unsettlingly hollow and cheery, she looked lost and uncertain, almost afraid.

"Um…" Koishi's voice was just as uncertain as her expression. "…Hello?"

"Hi," Renko said, fidgeting awkwardly.

Koishi was quiet for a bit, looking around at their surroundings.

"…I feel like I've been here before, but… I don't really know where this is," Koishi muttered, staring at her third eye again.

"This is—" Renko started.

"…the entrance to the underground? What… what am I doing up here?" Koishi tilted her head. "Wait, why aren't you acting that surprised I interrupted you? And, uh, who are you, anyways?"

Renko sighed quietly.

 _I'm Renko Usami, I'm not acting that surprised because I'm friends with another satori, and I brought you here after you lost a duel with me. You were being really creepy, but now you're just acting like Satori when I met her, which I think is an improvement,_ she thought.

Koishi stared, trying to process this.

"You're… friends? With another satori?" she asked.

 _Yeah._ Renko quietly visualized her last meeting with Satori, when Marisa had become a youkai, and how amiable she'd been with Satori.

"You… You know my sister…" Koishi smiled faintly, but the smile quickly faded. "…but, wait, she looks a bit different…"

"Koishi!" Satori hastily flew up, and stopped herself just barely before running into the boundary where the underground officially stopped.

"Big sis!" Koishi immediately perked up, looking at the other satori. She got to her feet just a bit unsteadily, and ran over, nearly collapsing against Satori in a hug.

"…has it really been that long…?" Koishi muttered after several seconds. "…oh… I… I'm so sorry, sis… I didn't want to do that to you."

"I know," Satori said, and hugged Koishi closer. "It's okay. You can come home now."

Koishi nodded, and Satori looked up over her shoulder at Renko.

Renko waved hello with a wing, and quickly played through what had just happened in her head.

"Kyaaaa, now I can never get married!" Koishi cried, and buried her head in Satori's shoulder.

"Renko, if you ever touch my sister's third eye again I'm going to have to hurt you," Satori said, as stoically as ever. Her tone and gaze softened after a moment. "…But, your impulsive whim means my dear sister is back. I've been locked out of Koishi's mind for years because she thought sewing it shut would mean she could make friends… and now she's herself again. I can't thank you enough for deciding it was worth a try."

 _You're welcome._ Renko smiled sheepishly. She hadn't known it was that bad, but seeing how happy Satori was, she was glad she'd decided to try and make Koishi stop being creepy and ended up accomplishing this.

"I hate to just leave you, Renko, but I'm going to take Koishi home now. Our pets are going to be so glad to see her, especially Orin and Chie," Satori said.

"I definitely wanna go home," Koishi muttered quietly. Satori smiled and patted her sister's hair softly.

"Well, come along, then. Bye, Renko," Satori said.

"Bye," Koishi echoed. Renko waved, and watched the two sisters start back into the caves with a smile.

Once they were out of sight, she got up, and took flight. She still had some things to do, after all.

She hadn't noticed the eerily glowing purple stone sphere in her bag.

* * *

As Renko glided towards Mima's house, there was a sudden, quiet whistling in the air.

Just as suddenly, something heavy collided with her back, and she gave a startled scream as, in a rush of air, she found herself being slammed face-first into the forest floor. Her wings beat the air almost frantically, before the ground flowed up into arms and pulled them against the forest floor, trapping her. Waves of pain rolled through her from her back where she'd been hit.

"Does she have one?"

"Yep. Told you—see? Right here."

Renko tried to twist around to see who was speaking. One of the voices sounded very familiar… but she couldn't quite place it, and she couldn't turn herself to see.

"Great. This'll help with the plan," the first, familiar voice said gleefully.

"Sure will. …What are you doing?" The second voice sounded stern, almost motherly.

"Taking her cash."

"Put it back, she works hard for that."

"Since when have I ever been an honest youkai?"

"Seriously, dear. We just need the Power Stone, not this poor little thing's money."

"Fiiine, but you're paying next time we go out for drinks."

"Fair, fair."

The two youkai voices trailed off as they continued chattering and left. Renko struggled against her earthy bindings to no avail. Even once the forest had gone silent, she couldn't free herself, and one of her wings had started to painfully lock up from being pinned.

Out of options, Renko let out a loud, distressed screeching noise. Maybe some youkai would hear it, and help her.

"My, my, Renko, that's not a very pleasant noise," Yukari said, stepping out of a gap.

"Merry! Please help me, I can't get out of this…" Renko tried to tug her wings free once more, only to be met with the same result.

"Hmm, you're kind of cute and tempting like this…" Yukari tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Merry, please, it really hurts…" Renko looked up with tears in the corners of her eyes.

Yukari immediately traced two lines in the air with her fingers. The bindings crumbled back into dirt, and Renko sat up slowly, wincing.

"Apologies. I didn't realize you were in pain," Yukari said. She gracefully stepped over, and took hold of Renko's wing, gently rubbing along the arm. Renko took several deep breaths and slowly relaxed, and the painful stiffness in her wing quickly faded.

"What happened?" Yukari asked once Renko tucked her wings back into place.

"I'm not completely sure. I was flying back to Mima's house to study, and then something knocked me out of the air, pinned me down, and then I heard two youkai talking about taking some kind of Power Stone from me… I'm not sure what that is… and one of them was going to steal my money, but the other one stopped her," Renko said. Yukari nodded, a frown on her face.

"This is quite the incident if even you are getting involved. I do hope it's resolved soon," she said. She offered Renko a hand. "Come along, let's get you to your studies."

Renko accepted her hand, and followed Yukari through one of her gaps. She shivered just slightly as she stepped out onto Mima's front porch. The book of runic magic was still laying there.

"Thank you for helping me, Merry," Renko said, looking up. She still hadn't let go of the older youkai's hand.

"Anything for Gensokyo's cutest youkai~" Yukari winked.

"Wait, wha—" Renko started. It was too late, as Yukari lightly kissed the back of Renko's hand before letting go and stepping backwards into a gap.

Renko stood there for a full minute, face flushed solid red. Was Yukari—Merry—actually flirting with her? She had absolutely no idea how to even start to process this.

Finally, she gave up. She could figure this out later. For now, some nice magical theory would help take her mind off things.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

I feel like I should clarify something.

If Yukari had explained the implications of being a youkai, eating humans, etc. while Renko was human and asked her if she wanted to become a youkai, Renko would have refused. That is the truth.

Renko, as she is now, legitimately believes that she still would have consented to it. That is also the truth.

Becoming a youkai messes with your head, guys. Along with trying to keep the proportion of humans to youkai relatively even, my headcanon is that _that's_ why humans from the village aren't allowed to become youkai. Not because they'll intentionally cause more trouble, but because they'll unintentionally cause more trouble because they _don't realize their thought processes have changed so much_. Reimu allowed it for Marisa because she knows she can keep Marisa on a very, very tight leash, and because the mental changes are minimal for magicians.


	18. Incident Resolution

Chapter 18: Incident Resolution

* * *

Renko hadn't seen Mima or Marisa at all for the next day, but she wasn't terribly concerned. In fact, she was only mildly surprised when Marisa flung Alice's front door open and stepped in, right in the middle of breakfast.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Alice asked, lowering the teacup that had been almost at her lips.

"Ain't important right now. I need to borrow Renko," Marisa said. "Like, five minutes ago, ze."

"Uh, okay," Renko said, giving a small shrug. She quickly piled her bacon on her toast and folded it in half, and as she followed Marisa outside, she grabbed her bag with her wing-claw.

"So, um… What do you need me for, Marisa?" Renko asked. Marisa hopped onto her broom.

"Incident shit," Marisa said, and took off. Renko sighed and followed, nibbling on her impromptu bacon sandwich as she flapped her wings, keeping pace as well as she could.

"So, we were gonna send Meemz after the outsider who's been kidnapping youkai for shits 'n giggles, but apparently someone else had a similar idea," Marisa clarified as they flew. "We were a few steps behind the whole way. Mamizou got them all before Reimu, Meemz, and I could, and she tricked this outsider girl into coming to Gensokyo."

Renko tilted her head. That didn't sound so bad.

"And you need me because…?"

"Becaaause unprotected outsider human running around Gensokyo? Reimu thinks someone else gave this kid what she needed to pull off this shit, and we wanna interrogate her. And we kinda need her alive for that, don't want someone to eat our evidence," Marisa said.

Oh.

Renko hadn't actually considered the fact that the outsider behind the incident might be killed and eaten. The urgency made much more sense all of a sudden.

"So what do you want me to do…?" Renko asked.

"Help search for her, ze! Reimu's gonna search around the shrine and village, I'm takin' Youkai Mountain, Meemz is gonna check Misty Lake and the Forest of Magic. Since you have your ability to figure out exactly where you are, it'd be great if you'd search the bamboo forest," Marisa said.

Renko nodded.

"And what do I do if I find her?" she asked.

"Get her to the shrine, nobody would be stupid enough to try and kill a human on the shrine grounds. Then just wait for Reimu so she can question the brat and sent her home, ze," Marisa said. Renko nodded again. It was a simple enough request, and she hadn't spoken to someone else from outside Gensokyo in a while. It'd be interesting if she managed to find her first.

"Alright, I'll do my best." Renko quickly gulped down the last of her breakfast, and held both hands in a thumbs-up. Marisa chuckled, and veered off towards the mountain. Renko adjusted her course in an easy curve until she was headed for the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

* * *

The familiar scenery of the bamboo forest soon came into view. Instead of skimming over it as she often did, though, Renko glided down until she was flying only a few feet above the ground.

The foliage was surprisingly dense, and it would have been difficult to see in some parts if she'd still been human. She mentally thanked Yukari for her excellent dark-vision.

As Renko glided through the forest, she kept her ears perked for any sort of sounds that might help her find someone. The only sounds she could pick up were the sounds of her own wings against the air, and the faint rustling of the wind in the leaves, and the cry of a bird of some sort—

Suddenly, her ankle caught on something, and Renko yelped as a rope snatched her out of flight, yanking her upside-down. She blinked several times, and cursed herself for being so distracted listening for any trouble that she had completely missed the rope trap strung up between the bamboo stalks.

"Ahaha! Man, you should see the look on your face. Nice undies, by the way," a youthful voice said from a short ways away. A girl in a simple pink dress, white rabbit ears poking out of her dark hair, bounded over, grinning widely.

"Eep!" Renko blushed and quickly tried to pull the hem of her skirt back up.

The rabbit girl laughed.

"Eheh. Well, looks like I got you good. I'll let ya down now, I'm just in the trap business for the laughs."

Renko watched her walk around and pull a few pins out of the dirt, and suddenly, Renko fell to the ground. She pouted as she pulled the rope off her ankle and brushed her wings clean as she stood up.

"That wasn't very funny," Renko said.

"Was for me! Heheheh. S'okay, though, how 'bout this—I'll give you some luck to make up for it, and you don't make a big fuss. We got a deal?" The rabbit girl winked, and offered Renko a handshake.

Renko sighed. She sorely wanted to growl at the other youkai, but she was on a mission, and it'd just be a waste of her time fighting her.

"Fine, fine…" Renko shrugged with her wings, and shook the girl's hand.

"Grrreat! Later!" With that, the rabbit youkai bounced off into the forest, and was gone. Renko took off flying, and only then did she realize that one of her flight feathers was missing.

Stupid lousy rabbits.

* * *

Renko floated into a clearing, and glanced up. She'd been at this for a few hours already. She didn't think the person she was looking for was even here, but then again, there was still plenty of forest. Even with her excellent sense of direction, she'd been held up by accidentally circling back to Eientei a few times when she took her eyes off the sky.

It was starting to get late in the day, and Renko sighed. Maybe Marisa or someone had already found the outsider and she was just wasting her time…

Just as the thought passed through her head, though, she caught the scent of smoke. That was concerning even on a good day, and she took off, following the scent.

It took a while—the trail kept fading in and out, or vanishing entirely, but finally it started to strengthen steadily. Renko eventually caught sounds as she continued.

"Sorry about that, didn't realize you were kinda panicky and roughed-up already," an unfamiliar voice was saying.

"…Hmph. Well, at least you're helping…" This voice was familiar, and Renko's heart sank a bit.

She had a feeling she knew exactly who the interfering outsider was now.

Renko finally glided out into a clearing where the smell was strongest. The ground here was ashy and much of the bamboo was singed, and a small, comfortable-looking house stood in the center, walls stained by smoke.

On a stone slab just outside, a woman with long white hair in a smoke-stained top and red pants marked with hand-drawn seals was sitting on a stone bench beside a teenage girl, visibly younger than Renko, though with a hat much like hers and a flowing cape. Glowing runes trailed along the lining, and there were several scrapes and cuts on her legs and tears in her sleeves and dress. The white-haired woman was dabbing at the girl's scrapes with a cloth, a bucket of water at her feet.

She looked up sharply at Renko, and conjured a ball of fire in her spare hand with a scowl on her face.

"If you're planning to eat this human, I'm going to make you regret your entire miserable existence, youkai," she said.

Renko immediately stopped, holding her hands up innocently.

"No! No, that's not—I'm not planning to eat anyone. Really, I'm not," she said quickly. She landed lightly on her feet, keeping her hands up. The white-haired woman shot her a glare, but put out the fireball.

"What the hell do you want, then? I'm busy," she said.

Renko glanced at the girl, who was paying more attention to her injuries than the newcomer to the clearing.

"Hi, Sumireko," she said.

Sumireko Usami jolted upright, blinking at Renko from behind red-rimmed glasses.

"What the—How did you know my name—wait—What the hell?!" Sumireko stared, eyes wide, as if Renko had two heads or something.

"Uh…" Renko paused. Ran had said, what felt like forever ago, that her family would probably forget who she was. "My name's Renko. Renko Usami."

Sumireko went slightly pale.

"That's impossible. You can't be Renko… Renko's been dead for two years, and never spoke…" Sumireko fidgeted uncomfortably. "…but gods, you look like her…"

"…What?" Renko stared. That was not part of the plan. That was never part of the plan.

The white-haired woman sighed, sounding far wearier than should have been possible for her apparent age, and dropped her rag in the bucket, as she'd finished cleaning Sumireko's injuries.

"Well, if you're trying to confuse the hell out of everyone, you succeeded. Look, if you two apparently know each other, how about you talk about it while I go get some bandages?" The woman shot Renko another look. "If you try and eat Sumireko while I'm away, I'm gonna kill you and make it hurt."

"I already said I'm not going to eat anyone!" Renko crossed her arms and gave a quiet, indignant huff.

The woman got up and walked over to the small house, though before she entered, she glanced over her shoulder at Renko. Renko approached and took a seat on the ground. The scent of blood from Sumireko's cuts was starting to make Renko just a bit hungry, but she easily ignored it.

"…If you're saying you're my cousin, you have to prove it," Sumireko said after a minute of silence. "I'm not just going to trust a youkai again."

"How…?" Renko tilted her head slightly.

"Well, say something only my actual family would know!" Sumireko snapped.

Renko rolled her eyes. She'd never liked Sumireko much. Too bossy, too impulsive, always thought she was better than everyone around her. But family was family, and a mission from Reimu and Marisa was a mission…

"Okay… I used to have speech problems—you're surprised because I only worked through those after I went to university, and apparently you in the outside world think I died instead of going into higher education. Also, you're telekinetic and telepathic, and you forced me to join your 'Secret Sealing Club' at a family reunion when you were ten and I was fifteen," Renko said.

Sumireko took this in, quietly frowning at the ground.

"…That's pretty good, I have to say. Being right about my name, abilities, relative age, and the Sealing Club… Maybe you really are my cousin," she said. She looked up. "Uh, but, you're definitely not a human."

Renko nodded, and stretched one wing out to show off the shimmering colors. Sumireko was clearly trying to pretend she wasn't impressed while she admired it.

"Yeah, I became a youkai… pretty recently, actually. It's a kind of long story, but the short version is that my best friend, who's a youkai, turned me into one as a present," she said. "I've been living in Gensokyo for… almost two months now."

She didn't mention that it felt as though it had been much longer.

Sumireko raised an eyebrow.

"Two months? But you've been dead—well, we thought you've been dead for two years. I remember your funeral. Apparently you died in an accident in your first few weeks at university," Sumireko said.

Renko shrugged. "Well, um, when people stay in Gensokyo too long, apparently the world tries to forget they were there. Records start getting lost, and I guess if nobody had pictures of me from after I started school in Kyoto, it'd be easiest to just… erase that I had an existence after that."

"That's really creepy," Sumireko said, glancing around with a shiver.

"It… yeah, it kinda is," Renko said. "But, um, this is a place for things the world doesn't believe in anymore."

Sumireko started to speak, but the white-haired woman returned from the house with an armful of bandages.

"Oh, thanks, Mokou," she said.

"No problem. I never use these things," Mokou said with a half-shrug. Sumireko took the bandages and started to wrap the cuts on her legs.

"Uh, Sumireko, are you okay?" Renko asked, taking another look at her cousin's injuries.

Sumireko slowly let out a breath.

"…Mostly. I swear, I've been attacked left and right ever since I got here. Nothing I haven't been able to fend off, but it's really stressful, having practically everyone you run into try to eat you," she said. There were a few moments of quiet while she finished bandaging her legs.

"If it helps any, I'm actually here to find you to help," Renko said.

"Eh?" Sumireko looked up again.

"Yeah, um, the shrine maiden who keeps stuff in order here wants to question you and send you home. She's looking for you now, and she recruited her magician friend, my mentor, and me to find you and take you to the shrine," Renko said.

"You're not taking her anywhere without me to keep an eye on you," Mokou said, glaring at Renko again.

"I wouldn't mind that, actually. Mokou, this is Renko—I'm almost certain she actually is my cousin. Renko, this is Mokou, she's a human who uses fire magic," Sumireko said.

Renko tipped her hat in a friendly gesture. Mokou waved half-heartedly.

"Mmh…" Sumireko stood up, and winced slightly. A faint blue glow surrounded her for an instant, and she floated a few inches in the air.

"…Are you using your telekinesis to fly? That feels like cheating…" Renko stared for a moment, feeling a flicker of envy after how frightening her first flight lesson had been.

"It might be cheating, but it's better than getting eaten by youkai because I'm too slow…" Sumireko folded her arms. "Anyways, take me to that shrine now! I wanna go home."

Renko nodded, and with a flourish, took off. To her mild annoyance, Sumireko could in fact keep up with her. Mokou trailed along after them, looking almost bored.

"So why'd you come to this dump, anyways?" Sumireko asked.

"It's not a dump. I like it here," Renko said. When Sumireko didn't say anything for a few moments, Renko continued. "Um, anyways, my best friend vanished, then sent a nine-tailed kitsune youkai to bring me here so we could still live in the same world."

"Huh. I just got tricked into it by a tanuki." Sumireko stared idly at the scenery as they flew. "It's really green here, huh."

"Well, yes, those would be the plants…" Renko commented.

"I miss the city already," Sumireko muttered. Renko rolled her eyes. Sumireko really wasn't making any effort to be pleasant, was she?

Renko resisted the urge to comment, though, and kept flying.

* * *

"Hey, Renko, I'm hungry. Do you have any food on you?" Sumireko asked after a while. Renko sighed.

"No. I don't carry food around," she said.

"Oh."

There was another few moments of quiet.

"Hey, Renko, can you buy me something to eat? I'm hungry…" Sumireko whined.

"Sumireko, we're in the middle of Gensokyo, I'm trying to get you to the shrine where you'll be safe, and you're asking me to buy you food?" Renko stared incredulously at her cousin.

Sumireko stared back.

"…Yeah?" She tilted her head slightly.

Renko groaned mentally. Did she really not see what the problem here was? She hadn't even said please.

"…You know what, fine. Fine. I haven't had lunch yet, anyways." Renko exasperatedly veered off and started to glide lower—they weren't too far from where Mystia ran her lamprey stand. Sumireko followed eagerly, and Mokou nearly failed to notice the change in course before hurrying after them.

As Renko glided down through the trees, the scent of grilled lamprey reached her, and she smiled. Now this was something that always helped her mood, bratty teenagers or no.

"Hello, Mystia!" she said as she came to a stop on the path. Sumireko landed beside her.

"Renko! Running late today, huh—" Mystia started. She stopped when Mokou caught up. "…Really? Of all the people you could have brought… And who's the human kid?"

"Can it, Lorelei," Mokou said, and leaned against a tree. She picked up a twig and started idly chewing on the end. "Don't bother getting me anything, by the way. I don't like fish, even if Lorelei's seasonings are good."

The tension in the air was almost tangible, and Renko hastily attempted to defuse it.

"This is my cousin, Sumireko. Reimu wants to meet with her, but she's hungry, and I haven't had lunch either. Two lamprey, please," Renko said. Mystia tore her gaze from Mokou and nodded.

"Coming right up, then…" Mystia quickly started preparing the food. Sumireko watched nervously, and Renko simply let herself relax a bit.

There was silence, until Mystia finally offered Renko and Sumireko their food. Renko eagerly took hers, while Sumireko hesitated, but accepted the meal. Renko fished out some money, handed it over, and immediately started on her grilled lamprey.

Sumireko made a bit of a face, inspecting the skin, and finally closed her eyes and forced herself to take a nibble. Mystia watched expectantly.

"…Well, it tastes better than it looks," Sumireko said, and took another bite, though she was still trying not to look at what she was eating.

"Of course it does. Lamprey are the best," Mystia said, grinning proudly.

"They're okay, I guess." Sumireko nibbled away, oblivious to the glare the now-deflated night sparrow was giving her.

"I still think they're amazing," Renko said, looking up from her half-eaten fish. She hadn't meant to eat so quickly, but Sumireko still smelled faintly of blood and she was just so hungry. Mystia chuckled and relaxed.

"Heh. At least one Usami has great taste. The other one probably tastes great, but don't worry, I don't eat relatives of friends," Mystia said. Sumireko started coughing, nearly choking on a piece of lamprey.

Renko couldn't help but find it slightly funny, but she kept a straight face. She didn't want to laugh at humor about eating humans, not in front of anyone, anyways. She quickly returned to her food, and by the time she finished eating, Sumireko had managed to eat a pretty good portion of hers.

"...Uh, I think that's all I want right now," Sumireko commented, staring at the remaining fish.

"I'll take the rest," Renko offered. Sumireko shrugged and handed her skewer over, and Renko finished off the leftovers in a few bites before tossing the remains. She wasn't normally still hungry after a whole lamprey. Maybe Sumireko was getting to her and she was eating out of stress.

"Thanks for your business, as always, Renko," Mystia said.

"And thank you for being such a good cook," Renko said, smiling. "Sumireko, are you ready to keep going?"

"Yeah." Sumireko took off immediately, and Renko sighed, giving Mystia an apologetic glance and a wave goodbye before taking off after her. Mokou trailed after them once again.

* * *

Luckily, nobody bothered them in the air as the youkai, psychic, and fire-user flew the rest of the way to the Hakurei Shrine. As Renko touched down just in front of the shrine gate, Sumireko stared at their surroundings.

"...This is the shrine, huh? And the person who's going to send me home is here?" she asked.

"Um, she might not actually be here right this second. We all split up to find you," Renko said.

"Huh. Okay, I guess." Sumireko idly wandered up to the steps, and took a seat. Mokou didn't actually land, and surveyed the shrine with her hands in her pockets.

"Well, now you're on safe ground, so I guess I can leave you here. Take care, 'kay?" Mokou said.

Sumireko nodded, and smiled.

"Thanks, Mokou," she said. She waved as Mokou turned and flew off. It took willpower for Renko to not start growling at Sumireko. Stupid lousy brat couldn't thank her for buying food, but could thank Mokou for just flying around ten feet after them? Who did she think she was?

Renko couldn't help but be uncomfortable with her anger, and the fact that after eating more than her usual share of lamprey, she was still hungry. It must have been Sumireko's injuries. She still smelled like blood.

"...I'll look around for Reimu, okay?" Renko offered, wanting to be as far from Sumireko as she possibly could before she did something rash.

"Kay." Sumireko shrugged, and Renko fluttered her wings once to go looking around.

Renko didn't get very far before she heard an excited squealing from back where she'd left Sumireko.

"Ohmygods you're so cuuute! Can I hold you? You are the most refreshingly adorable thing ever!"

"Kyaaa! Reimu, save meee!"

Renko let out a slow sigh and kept flying. Whatever poor hapless resident of Gensokyo Sumireko was attempting to cuddle could defend themselves, probably.

* * *

"Hakurei!" Renko called, snapping her wings open to pull herself out of a dive. Reimu looked up from where she was flying along the path behind the shrine, along the edge of the barrier.

"Oh, Usami. I take it Marisa told you what we wanted you to do?" Reimu asked. Renko nodded, flapping her wings a few times.

"Yes! Um, I found the outside-world girl. I left her at the shrine," Renko said.

"Fantastic. I've already beaten up Kokoro for trying to harass me, and Miko and Byakuren for going at it in the village again. I am so ready to be done with this incident," Reimu said. She shook her head, and tapped one of the yin-yang orbs at her side with her gohei.

"Marisa?" Reimu said to the orb. There was a few moments of a noise like radio static, and then Marisa's voice came through.

"Yo, what's up? I got a bit sidetracked because Nitori wanted a duel, but I haven't found anything yet, ze," Marisa said.

"That's okay, Usami found her. Get your sorry butt back to the shrine ASAP," Reimu said.

"Can do, ze!"

Reimu tapped the orb again, and there was silence. Renko stared for a few moments. "...Oh, incident intercom. Yukari helped set it up, very helpful. C'mon, let's go." Reimu zipped off, and Renko struggled to try and keep up. She didn't really stand a chance, and soon Reimu wasn't even in her line of sight. By the time she glided down in front of the shrine, there was some commotion waiting there for her.

A purple-haired small child with a hat that resembled a dish was hiding behind Reimu's legs, while Sumireko was holding her hands up innocently, Marisa had her mini-hakkero out and aimed at the psychic, and a woman with pink hair and a fully bandaged arm was inspecting her contemplatively. Renko was fairly sure, from a past conversation with Kosuzu, that her name was Kasen.

"I swear, I really have no idea who messed with the Power Stones," Sumireko said just as Renko glided down and landed a few feet away.

"Don't play dumb, Usami, you knew enough about the Power Stones to use them for your stupid plan. It really was stupid, by the way—did you really think that youkai would let you get away with that shit?" Reimu said.

"Well, I didn't think they could do anything to me in the outside world…" Sumireko pouted.

"And you really didn't even consider that maybe, in retaliation, they might send someone after you who could do something to you out there, or try and lure you across?" Kasen asked, lifting her normal hand to her chin contemplatively.

"Uh…" Sumireko giggled nervously.

"That sounds completely characteristic of her," Renko said in the most deadpan tone she could manage. Marisa burst into giggles, and her arm lowered slightly.

Sumireko seized the moment, and with a flicker of blue telekinetic glow, Marisa's weapon was suddenly in her hand.

"Hah! Even in your own home, I'm still better than youkai. Now, you're going to stop this and send me home now, or—" Sumireko started.

Sudden anger ran through Renko. How dare Sumireko say she was better than youkai? Better than _Renko_? She reacted on impulse and tackled her cousin to the ground. Sumireko tried to activate the mini-hakkero, and Renko sank her teeth into Sumireko's wrist. The weapon fell to the ground harmlessly, and Sumireko screamed and struggled.

"Aaaaugh! Renko, what the hell?! G-get off me! Aaah! That hurts, gods, get off, stop…"

Renko was an intelligent, rational person, but even then, holding her powerful youkai instincts at bay while she had her razor-sharp fangs (wait, fangs? since whe—) in Sumireko's delicious, weak, _human_ flesh (this wasn't okay, Sumireko was her cousin for gods' sakes, even if she was a bi—) was more than she could handle.

She bit down harder, shaking her head to try and tear the skin. Before she could do too much damage, though, something struck the back of her head with immense force, and everything went dark.

* * *

When Renko came to, her mouth no longer tasted like blood. Her head ached horribly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Yukari and Reimu were sitting beside her in the shrine. A quick glance to the door told her it was night.

"According to Ran's divination, she already disliked her cousin, and the younger Usami was rather rude the entire time they were together, as well as having injuries making her smell like food. I really don't blame her for snapping," Yukari said, in an almost uncharacteristically soft tone.

"I guess that'd make sense. Still, you did this to her," Reimu said, sternly and evenly.

"I know." Yukari glanced over at Renko. "Oh, she's awake."

Renko slowly sat up, and whimpered slightly. Everything was a bit blurred, and the angle looked a bit off from what her balance told her.

"...Did I really try to eat Sumireko...?" she asked, almost fearfully.

"Yes, you did. Luckily for her, I managed to knock you out cold with a yin-yang orb. Sent her home so she could go seek medical treatment, since you almost took her hand off," Reimu said.

Somehow, Renko didn't feel that bad about it. The part of her that knew it was wrong had finally broken. The mental changes were complete.

"Okay," she said, simply to acknowledge that she'd understood.

Yukari hid a huge grin behind her fan. _Finally, she's perfect._

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

Thank you all for sticking with me for the ride. The epilogue will go up on Thursday.


	19. Epilogue

Chapter 19: Epilogue

* * *

 _Aww, you're so cute! Satori, you never told me your sister was this adorable,_ Marisa thought, patting Koishi on the head. The younger satori was lying on her stomach, drawing in a notebook, and Marisa sat cross-legged beside her while Satori worked on the story she was writing.

"I thought you deserved to witness it yourself," Satori said, giggling quietly. Koishi hummed cheerfully and doodled a lopsided witch hat onto one of her stick figures.

 _You been adjusting well since you got back, kiddo?_ Marisa glanced down at Koishi's third eye, which was nestled in the bend of her elbow.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Big Sis has been taking good care of me, and I'm glad she has a nice girlfriend like you, too. And Orin and Okuu were really happy to see me, and so's my doggy, Chie…" Koishi attempted to draw a bird. It ended up looking more like a sausage with a bow and squiggly wings.

 _You guys have a dog? Satori, why you gotta hold out on me? I love dogs, you shoulda introduced me,_ Marisa complained. Satori giggled again, and carefully put the cover back on her typewriter.

"My apologies, dear. I guess I'll just have to make it up to you, won't I?" she said. Marisa stifled laughter, and Satori glanced at Koishi. Her younger sister hadn't picked up the implications.

"…Koishi, I'd like to talk to Marisa alone for a few minutes. I figure we can go on ahead and start making lunch, and you can keep working on your drawing, okay?" Satori said. She felt Koishi's thoughts flicker ever-so-slightly questioning, and responded mentally, _No, I'm not planning to talk about you behind your back. I want to ask her about a friend, and personal stuff._

Koishi nodded absently, but her wordless mental approval was much stronger.

"Aaalright then," Marisa said, and hopped to her feet. Satori stood gracefully, and walked out of the study, leaving Koishi to her own devices.

Once they were out of the range where Koishi would be able to pick up anything specific, Satori mentally reached out, and she met only a moment of resistance before the magician youkai let her in.

 _So, uh, Marisa. Are you sure you're okay? Being a youkai and all? I know you never used to want this,_ Satori thought.

 _It's fine, really. You've asked me this a few times. What's on your mind?_ Marisa tilted her head slightly. Satori smiled faintly. She'd always found that quirk cute.

She sighed softly, and gathered her thoughts.

 _Well… Sometimes, I worry. When I helped fix your mind after your head injury… I tried to make sure everything was the same. But I wonder sometimes, did I do something wrong? Did I, perhaps, unconsciously influence you to become a youkai? To fall in love with me? I don't want any of this to be unnatural._

 _People change, Satori. I mean, you should see Renko. She's barely been a youkai that long, and she tried to eat a bratty outsider. Reimu said she didn't even feel bad about it._ Marisa shrugged. _If you did, you didn't mean anything by it. And I'm happy. And I'm not gonna eat anyone, since I'm a magician, not a space dragon._

 _Funny, I was going to ask about Renko next…_ Satori chuckled quietly. _Still, if you're happy and you're sure, I'll try not to let it bother me._

 _Good girl… I'll have to reward you for that._ Marisa winked, and her thoughts made Satori blush faintly.

 _…You. You are so lucky you manage to distract yourself from those thoughts when Koishi's around_.

* * *

"I think it was totally worth it, even if I still have a yin-yang-orb-shaped bruise on my back," Mamizou commented, looking up from her sake dish at Kasen. The hermit was drinking tea instead, and regarding Mamizou's bottle with mild distaste.

"Your idea almost got the outsider killed," Kasen said.

Mamizou shrugged.

"Yeah, but it didn't. And now she'll think twice before messing with Gensokyo," she said. She took another sip of sake. "Hey, have you seen Nue around lately?"

"I think she was impressed by Byakuren's motorcycle and hasn't left the Myouren Temple," Kasen said with a half-shrug.

"Great to know. I'll have to pick her up, we have plans."

* * *

"Ugh," Reimu muttered, pacing back and forth in front of the shrine. Shinmyoumaru watched, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"What's the matter, Reimu? You've been in a really bad mood ever since you sent the scary teenager who kept touching my face across the border," the inchling said.

Reimu stopped pacing, and let out a sigh.

"Stupid Lunarians trying to mess with Gensokyo. It's a whole other scale of incident. The 'scary teenager' was just a pawn in their game, had no idea what she was being used for. I'm waiting for a letter from Eirin, because I can't take care of something on this scale by myself," Reimu said.

Shinmyoumaru nodded, taking this in.

"…That does sound like trouble. But, I think you can take care of it. You're good at stopping trouble. Like that bird youkai who tried to eat the scary teenager, and Seija, and a bunch of other stuff! I'll be cheering you on."

Reimu chuckled softly, and while her thoughts were still troubled, she felt a little better.

"Thanks, Shinmyoumaru. I just have to hope Eirin can help me out here."

* * *

Alice carefully stitched a feather into the fabric, and turned it ever so slightly. Using actual feathers, painted in the proper colors, was working out so much better than trying to construct feathers out of fabric for doll-sized wings…

She was interrupted in her work by a sudden knock at the door. It was too fast to be Reimu or Renko, and not an annoying enough pattern to be Marisa.

She sighed, delicately set her thread and needles down, and got up to see who was disturbing her. She swung the door open to reveal a short-haired tengu, notepad already in hand.

"Hello, Margatroid! Is Usami home? I want to interview her about the incident," Aya said, the predatory grin of a journalist on her face.

"No, she's out for the day. In fact, I believe she wasn't planning to come back tonight. She said she was meeting someone after her lessons with Mima," Alice said, maintaining a perfectly even expression. She was very experienced in not giving Aya anything to work with.

Aya pouted.

"What a shame. Any idea who she was planning to see?" The tengu scribbled a line in her notepad.

Alice smirked. Aya was going to be so disappointed.

"Why, I believe it was Yakumo," she said.

Aya flung up her hands in frustration.

"Great. Juuust great. Looks like I'm not getting any sort of scoop out of her today… Well, catch you later, Margatroid!" And in a blur, the crow tengu was gone.

Alice quietly scanned the ground below where she'd been hovering, and her eyes lit up in delight.

"Oh, what a lovely feather!"

* * *

Mokou sat beside a stream that ran through the bamboo forest, a simple handmade fishing rod in hand. There weren't actually any fish in the stream, but it was fun to pretend sometimes and daydream about things.

As she did, quite suddenly, a caped figure appeared at her side.

"Wha—huh?" Sumireko looked around, blinking several times. "Mokou? What am I doing here?"

Mokou glanced at the teenager. She wasn't sure why she liked her. Maybe she reminded her, faintly, of herself a very long time ago—young, arrogant, and full of power.

But her aura felt muted, somehow, and a quick glance showed she wasn't casting a shadow.

"I think you're dreaming," Mokou said calmly. "Want to talk while I fish?"

Sumireko looked around, and noticed her own lack of shadow. She certainly wasn't fully present.

"Uh…" Sumireko shrugged. "Sure, why not? If this is a dream, might as well spend it with the only cool person in Gensokyo."

Mokou chuckled quietly to herself. This might actually be more satisfying than fighting Kaguya again.

* * *

The sky was growing dark. Mima's lessons had been harsher than usual, and focused heavily on mental control. Renko counted herself lucky she wasn't too drained as she flew through the late-evening sky towards her destination.

Finally, she glided down, landing easily on her feet in the streets of Mayohiga. A cat walked past her, brushing against her leg. She kept walking, and approached the nearest house.

Renko quietly took an ornate key out of her pocket, and twined the red ribbon on it around her fingers. She clearly remembered being upset at Yukari when she'd first found out she had to eat humans. But even then, she hadn't been able to stay angry for long, and now…

Well, there was a reason she was here.

Renko slid the key into the lock. It didn't feel as if it should fit, and yet somehow, it did. She turned it, and pushed the door open. An eclectic mix of furnishings from all sorts of eras and cultures greeted her as she walked inside, reminding her of the trinkets Maribel used to collect. A grandfather clock with a long gray wig sitting atop it was knitting a scarf, and Renko stared at it for a moment before realizing it was supposed to be a grand _mother_ clock. She rolled her eyes.

"Damnit, Merry," she muttered. That was just ridiculous.

She kept moving forwards, and soon, stepped out into a comfortable sitting area. The electric lights were strange, after spending so long in sunlight, candle-light, and magic light, but almost comforting in their familiarity.

Ran looked up from the coffee table.

"Hello, Usami. I thought you might be joining us this evening. Lady Yukari should be up shortly. Would you care for something to drink?" the kitsune asked.

Renko considered this, tilting one ear to the side.

"Ah… Sure, thank you. Cold water's fine," she said. Ran stood to get the water, and Renko wandered over and took a seat on the sofa.

Suddenly, reality tore itself open, and Yukari fell out of a gap. She landed on her back, lying across the sofa with her head in Renko's lap.

"Hi," she said, smiling. Renko blushed.

"You did that on purpose," she said.

"I'm not denying that." Yukari sat up straight just as Ran walked back in with the water. Ran gave a knowing smile.

"Good evening, Lady Yukari. I'll go fix you something to eat. Usami, are you hungry at all?" Ran said, setting the water down on the table.

"Um… well, kinda. I did forget to get lunch," Renko said. Ran nodded, and turned and walked out.

Yukari watched her go, then turned to Renko.

"I'm glad you finally decided to come by. How do you like my home?" she said.

"It's… very _you_. The clock is silly, and you know I like things a little, um, neater, but I could get used to it," Renko said. Yukari smiled.

"Eheh. Well, Ran and Chen only encourage my collecting habits." Yukari shrugged, and leaned back. Renko giggled, and let herself relax too.

There were a few moments of comfortable quiet. But Renko did have one thing to address.

"…Hey, Merry?" Renko asked.

Yukari looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"Well…" Renko took a breath, gathering her composure. She'd been trying to decide how to address this. "…Last time we met, not counting when you were busy talking to Reimu about the incident and all, you called me cute, and kissed my hand. And I've been trying to figure out why you did that."

Yukari smiled.

"Isn't it obvious, Renko? I've always liked you more than I let on. Once, my fear of driving you away outweighed my hope that you would give me a chance. At this point in time, that's not the case anymore," she said.

Renko closed her eyes, thinking through this carefully. She'd suspected as much ever since, and even a bit when Yukari had dropped the key down the front of her shirt.

It didn't mean she was certain of what to do. She had started to develop feelings for Maribel, in the few months before her disappearance. They were separated by so much time now… but they were both youkai, they had plenty of time to work things out.

She nodded, and sat up straight, reaching for the water Ran had left her.

"…I see. Merry… Both of us are different now. And still kind of the same, in ways. I want to spend more time around you before I agree to anything," Renko said. She took a sip of water before continuing. "…But you know, I liked you more than I let on too. And I do, you know, want to spend more time around you."

Yukari smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

The End

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

Phew. It's been quite a trip... You know, I've never finished a multi-chapter work before. I think I've learned a lot about what to do, and what not to do, when writing. I dunno what I'm going to write next, but I can tell you that I'm not going to stop.


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